It has taken nearly 20 years to bring the world to this pivotal moment in climate change politics. Along the roller-coaster ride toward an international agreement, expectations have soared and plummeted dozens of times -- sometimes within a matter of days. But as nations convene today in Copenhagen for the world's largest global warming summit, one thing is new: For the first time, every major greenhouse gas polluter in the world has a promise and a plan to cut carbon. What that change signifies still isn't clear. Few think the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change conference, which runs through Dec. 18, will conclude with a new international treaty. Too many countries are still sparring over major issues for that. Moreover, the nation others expect to lead the world -- the United States -- still has not passed the legislation required to cut emissions.
Along the roller-coaster ride toward an international agreement, expectations have soared and plummeted dozens of times -- sometimes within a matter of days. But as nations convene today in Copenhagen for the world's largest global warming summit, one thing is new: For the first time, every major greenhouse gas polluter in the world has a promise and a plan to cut carbon.
What that change signifies still isn't clear. Few think the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change conference, which runs through Dec. 18, will conclude with a new international treaty. Too many countries are still sparring over major issues for that. Moreover, the nation others expect to lead the world -- the United States -- still has not passed the legislation required to cut emissions.
A much-anticipated global meeting of nearly 200 nations -- all seeking what has so far been elusive common ground on the issue of climate change -- began here on Monday with an impassioned airing of what leaders here called the political and moral imperatives at hand. "The clock has ticked down to zero," said the United Nations' climate chief, Yvo de Boer. "After two years of negotiation, the time has come to deliver." From now until Dec. 18, delegates will try to hammer out some of the most vexing details involved in the pursuit of a global climate accord.
"The clock has ticked down to zero," said the United Nations' climate chief, Yvo de Boer. "After two years of negotiation, the time has come to deliver."
From now until Dec. 18, delegates will try to hammer out some of the most vexing details involved in the pursuit of a global climate accord.
Dutchman Yvo de Boer has headed the UN's climate bureau since 2006, and the Copenhagen conference is the culmination of his efforts. Insiders say De Boer feels passionately about the issues, but getting a climate change agreement is an intellectual challenge first and foremost. When Yvo de Boer applied for the job of executive secretary of the UN's climate bureau, there was little chance he would get the job. His predecessor, Joke Waller-Hunter, who had unexpectedly died, was from the Netherlands too. It is very unusual for the UN to give a top job to the same country twice in a row, and anyway, it was a developing country's turn. But de Boer was simply the best candidate, even after an extra selection round was held. The climate bureau was created to support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the official name for the treaty that came out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It in charge of collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions from all the countries that are party to the treaty. It is also in charge of organising climate conferences, such as the one that started in Copenhagen on Monday. For that reason De Boer has been known to refer to himself as a "butler".
When Yvo de Boer applied for the job of executive secretary of the UN's climate bureau, there was little chance he would get the job. His predecessor, Joke Waller-Hunter, who had unexpectedly died, was from the Netherlands too. It is very unusual for the UN to give a top job to the same country twice in a row, and anyway, it was a developing country's turn. But de Boer was simply the best candidate, even after an extra selection round was held.
The climate bureau was created to support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the official name for the treaty that came out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It in charge of collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions from all the countries that are party to the treaty. It is also in charge of organising climate conferences, such as the one that started in Copenhagen on Monday. For that reason De Boer has been known to refer to himself as a "butler".
The COP15 United Nations Climate Summit has now opened in Copenhagen to calls from Denmark's host Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen for the 193 national delegations to knuckle down and reach agreement on how to make a climate difference. "Welcome to Denmark, welcome to Copenhagen. Welcome to two weeks during which we have to do what is most difficult in politics. Take difficult but necessary decisions now, to prevent increasing problems in the future," Løkke Rasmussen told delegates. Løkke Rasmussen reminded delegates in his opening speech that in order for agreement to be reached, heavy negotiations would be needed over the next two weeks in the corridors and meeting rooms of the Bella Center, where the summit is taking place.
"Welcome to Denmark, welcome to Copenhagen. Welcome to two weeks during which we have to do what is most difficult in politics. Take difficult but necessary decisions now, to prevent increasing problems in the future," Løkke Rasmussen told delegates.
Løkke Rasmussen reminded delegates in his opening speech that in order for agreement to be reached, heavy negotiations would be needed over the next two weeks in the corridors and meeting rooms of the Bella Center, where the summit is taking place.
