Climate Change: CQ Researcher Report

Will the Copenhagen Accord slow global warming? by Reed Karaim

"Delegates from around the globe arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in December hoping to forge a significant agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and temper climate change. But despite years of diplomatic preparation, two weeks of intense negotiations and the clamor for action from thousands of protesters outside the meeting, the conferees adopted no official treaty. Instead, a three-page accord — cobbled together on the final night by President Barack Obama and the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa — established only broad, nonbinding goals and postponed tough decisions. Yet defenders of the accord praised it for requiring greater accountability from emerging economies such as China, protecting forests and committing billions in aid to help poorer nations. But the key question remains: Will the accord help U.N. efforts to forge a legally binding climate change treaty for the world's nations?"

A sidebar lists related reports from CQ Researcher going back to 1991. A link also will take you to related topics.This report also includes:
Overview,Background,Current Situation,Outlook,Pro/Con, Chronology, Short Features, Voices from Abroad, Maps/Graphs, Bibliography, Next Step, Contacts, Footnote, and About the Author.

Source: Introduction from CQ Global Researcher February 2010
Image: Villagers displaced by flooding and erosion in Bangladesh move their house to higher ground in September 2008. Rising seas caused by climate change threaten to flood low-lying nations worldwide. (AP Photo/H. Rahman)