The Global Climate Treaty Deadline

Luka Suon
Sociology 202
December 4, 2008- 3:18pm


As the Deadline Draws Near...

From Poznan, Poland, negotiators and delegates from 190 countries around the world met a year ago to commit to a program that would force governments around the world to cut their carbon emissions dramatically by 2009. However, as the year of 2008 draws to a close it appears the treaty is not getting any closer to achieving its goal. Many delegates have met since Monday to discuss whether a new treaty should be drawn, but in that scenario the deadline would have to be given a little more time to meet its goals. The next meeting is to be held in Copenhagen in Denmark to discuss the future of a new treaty. The new treaty is designed with the intent to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose deadline ends in 2012. Most delegates agree that the details are secondary; getting the framework of the treaty is top priority at the moment, and to loose time on mere details would be a huge setback. For the U.S., the treaty could be a little more difficult to pass since it requires a Congressional approval on the matter. Nevertheless, the meeting will proceed, since this is a matter of grave importance that supersedes the authority of any nation here on the face of the Earth.

I suppose when one looks at it the frustration comes from spending too much time on details that had no place in the discussion at all. It is necessary to realize that what is truly at stake does not exist on a piece of paper but around us everyday. Politics, I guess, is just another devil in the detail that is out to ruin progress. I it's just another thing we need to live with, I suppose. Nevertheless, if we don't take this matter seriously enough by the time we do it could all be loss, and then that's when the real trouble begins.


Links:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/03/europe/EU-Poland-Climate-Dying-Deadline.php
http://www.heraldonline.com/wire/world/story/993762.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081203/ap_on_re_eu/eu_poland_climate_dying_deadline;_ylt=AvM76wMeG_WHniNnPTetNalpl88F