Chattanooga Pulse

In the past few weeks, I have been trying to present some ideas on how the average Chattanoogan can make steps towards participating in environmental stewardship. And with frightening prospects and realities (see last week’s column, “The Isle of Plastic”) becoming more present, it might behoove one to ask: What are the people in power doing? What are world leaders doing to take charge of the many crises threatening the planet?

Well, you should be pleased to know that a new climate protocol is under discussion. Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an organization based in Bonn, Germany, will be meeting to discuss developing new policy. The need to create this policy is pressing, as the Kyoto Protocol (to prevent climate changes and global warming) expires in 2012.

A climate conference will be held this December in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish government will host members of the UNFCCC, and the goal of the conference will be to end with a Copenhagen Protocol (similar to the Kyoto Protocol). One hundred eighty countries are expected to be represented.

Government representatives, journalists, and other attendees are expected to number around 8,000. Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister of climate and energy, will represent the government of Denmark. However, the former prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is the one who initiated hosting the conference. Hedegaard was quoted in an interview on cop15.dk as saying “If the whole world comes to Copenhagen and leaves without making the needed political agreement, then I think it’s a failure that is not just about climate. Then it’s the whole global democratic system not being able to deliver results in one of the defining challenges of our century. And that is and should not be a possibility. It’s not an option.”

Preliminary discussions between different governments will, hopefully, resolve a variety of topics before the actual conference. Then, focus can remain on the most important issues. Some governments are concerned with the financial resources needed to aid poorer countries in their environmental efforts. For example, Polish representatives are reluctant to contribute funds to the UN to aid impoverished countries. Poland has extremely high unemployment rates and is home to some of the poorest regions in Europe. Their government has a hard time seeing the justification in sending money to other parts of the world when counties in Europe have their share of financial problems.

The conference in Copenhagen is the 15th “conference of parties” being held by the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Danish government has expressed the hope that not only the subject of the conference will have an inspiring influence, but also the conference itself. On a side note, organizers are also working on installing a windmill near the site to provide climate-friendly energy for the conference.

There seems to be an aura of hope radiating around this conference. Countries that were previously being reserved about their views have started to come forward and show signs of cooperation, including Japan, China, India, and Indonesia. Another quotation from Hedegaard: “If we don’t deliver in Copenhagen, then I cannot see when again you can build up a similar pressure on all the governments of this world to deliver. So I think we should be very, very cautious not to miss the opportunity.”

We will all have to wait and see what the outcome of these discussions and this conference will be. In the meantime, though, it is encouraging to know that action is being taken by those who may have the most influence and power to make a change. For more information, check out the Conference’s official website: en.cop15.dk/frontpage

You can also share your personal opinions and read the opinions of “well-known climate debaters” on the site’s “Climate Thoughts” page: en.cop15.dk/climate+thoughts

Victoria Hurst is a proud resident of the Appalachian Mountains. She has recently graduated from Warren Wilson College with a B.A. in English: Creative Writing.