08 December 2009

COP-15: Frequently Asked Questions

Delegates from 192 countries are meeting in Copenhagen December 7–18, 2009, to discuss climate change and map out a strategy for reducing global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. COP-15 is neither the first nor the last time international representatives will come together to talk about climate issues. Scientists first hypothesized about global warming as far back as the late 1800s, and international political concern reaches back several decades. Below is an FAQ, written by Carlyn Reichel, on the milestones that led to COP-15 and what the international community hopes to achieve in Copenhagen.

Q: What is COP-15?

COP stands for Conference of Parties, the annual meeting of the 192 signatory countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP-15 in Copenhagen is the 15th such meeting to negotiate an international solution to the problem of climate change since the UNFCCC entered into force in 1994.

Q: What will be discussed at Copenhagen?

Negotiators must deal with a number of issues before crafting an international agreement on climate change that is environmentally effective, politically feasible and economically sustainable. They include:

• Mitigation — Developed and developing countries are both seeking ways to reduce the amount of CO₂ that humans emit into the atmosphere. Negotiators are discussing a combined approach in which developed countries reduce their current level of emissions and developing nations curb the rate of growth in their emissions as they continue to expand economically.

• Adaptation — Countries must also act to reduce the vulnerability of people to the worst effects of climate change. Developing countries are often the most vulnerable to change and have the fewest resources to help them adapt. They will need assistance to pay for adaptation activities such as coastal planning and construction of flood-proof housing. Copenhagen negotiations will likely address the mechanism for channeling aid to developing countries.

• Deforestation — Because forests remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, deforestation greatly affects the concentrations of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. Reducing emissions by avoiding and reversing deforestation will be a focal point of discussion.

• Technology Transfer — Developed countries can help promote economic growth in developing countries through more energy efficient and environmentally sound means. Technology transfer is a key feature of previous international agreements, but the form it will take is still uncertain. There are also substantial concerns over intellectual property rights.

• Financing — Developed countries polluted freely during their periods of industrial and economic growth, so developing countries argue that the developed world is historically and ethically responsible for the amount of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. The developed world also has more resources to address climate change, but all these adjustments will be costly, so there is an ongoing debate over who pays for what and how much. The developing world is requesting substantial financial support for their adaptation, mitigation and reforestation efforts.

The White House recently announced an emerging consensus among developed countries to mobilize a fund of $10 billion a year by 2012 to “support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable and least-developed countries that could be destabilized by the impacts of climate change.”

Q: What is the Kyoto Protocol?

At COP-3 in 1997, the parties adopted the Kyoto Protocol as an amendment to the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol included legally binding targets for industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, specifically their CO₂ emissions, but did not require such commitments from developing countries.

The Kyoto Protocol went into effect in 2005 with 141 ratifying nations, but it is set to expire in 2012. There are currently more than 180 ratifying parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Although the United States is a symbolic signatory, the Senate never ratified the protocol and former President George W. Bush rejected the protocol outright.

COP-11 in 2005 was also MOP-1 — the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. More than 10,000 delegates met in Montreal to map out a way to implement the provisions of Kyoto. COP-15 is also MOP 5.

Q: What is the Bali Action Plan?

COP-13/MOP-3 in Bali resulted in adoption of the two-year Bali Action Plan for negotiating a framework for climate action post-2012. All 192 parties to the UNFCCC, including the United States, agreed to the Bali Action Plan, which set COP-15/MOP-5 in Copenhagen as the target conference to reach a permanent successor agreement to Kyoto.

Q: Could COP-15 result in a post-Kyoto agreement?

The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Many political leaders have stated that COP-15 is unlikely to result in a permanent agreement to replace Kyoto. However, at a minimum, they believe it will produce an agreement that clears a path for a treaty in the coming year. Also, the presence of more than 100 world leaders in the final two days of the conference, including President Obama, has led to a renewed optimism for a positive outcome to COP-15.

The outcome of the Copenhagen negotiations could take one of two main forms:

• An agreement that builds on the first phase of Kyoto’s emission-reduction commitments for developed countries and adds a supplemental agreement on new mitigation commitments of developing countries.

• An entirely new, comprehensive agreement that governs all countries’ obligations and replaces the Kyoto Protocol altogether.

Q: What are some important milestones in international collaborations on climate change?

1971 — Recommendations from the international Study of Man’s Impact on Climate Change lead to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which officially includes climate issues as part of the U.N.’s environmental concerns.

1979 — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science organize the first World Climate Conference (WCC) and launch the World Climate Research Programme to coordinate continued international research.

1988 — The WMO and UNEP create the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that includes science experts and government representatives to regularly report on the state of the climate.

1990 — The IPCC publishes its first report. A second WCC places a strong call for international policy action in response to the IPCC report, leading the U.N. General Assembly to call for an international agreement to restrict global warming.

1992 — World leaders meet in Rio de Janeiro at the “first Earth summit,” the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. Negotiators in Rio adopt the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is ratified by 192 countries including the United States. The agreement is not binding but recognizes that climate change is real and establishes the basic principles for further negotiation.

1997 — Kyoto Protocol adopted at COP-3.

2007 — IPCC publishes its fourth assessment, reaching an “unequivocal” scientific consensus about the sources and dangers of human-made global warming, for which it wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Countries adopt the Bali Action Plan at COP-13.

2009 — WCC-3 meets in Geneva (learn more about the most recent WCC). U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts a climate change summit at the United Nations prior to convening the General Assembly. Negotiators meet in Copenhagen at COP-15.

Q: What other groups are working on climate change?

Several other bilateral and multilateral groups meet frequently between official COP gatherings to discuss climate change issues. President Obama has elevated climate change to a key issue in several of the United States’ bilateral relationships, including with China, India and Brazil. Climate issues have also become a key focus in the regular meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) countries. In April 2009, the United States convened the first meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). Since then, the MEF has met another four times in preparation for the negotiations at Copenhagen. Read more about the MEF.

Q: What is the most successful international environmental treaty to date?

The 1987 Montreal Protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is widely regarded as the most successful international agreement on environmental issues. The discovery of a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica led to the widespread adoption and implementation of the Montreal Protocol by every member of the United Nations. The protocol calls for phasing out production and consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere — chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform. Individual nations have since enacted laws and adopted regulations to carry out their treaty obligations. See a timeline of international environmental treaties.