Momentum Building Towards Climate Change Progress in Copenhagen

The summit of political leaders who are to gather in Copenhagen have been given an extra incentive towards strong action in combating man made climate change recently from various sources. Despite the recent controversy from leaked emails in what some have termed Climategate, both developing countries, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the world’s scientific experts have given their endorsement of sweeping and binding accords.

The Copenhagen Climate Conference is likely the most important international assembly on anthropogenic climate change since the Kyoto Accords over a decade ago. Taking place between December 7-18th, 2009, the conference includes the 15th Conference Of the Parties (COP 15) to the UN Framework on Climate Change.

Meant to address ever increasing levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) pollution from rapid industrialization around the globe and the ensuing climatological effects, the conference has been under fierce criticism from climate change skeptics and energy industry front groups for months. These attacks recently found focus following the hacking of a large number of emails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia webmail server. Many direct quotes from this institute were taken out of context and fueled paranoia about a vast conspiracy of scientists to delude the public about the dangers of climate change in order to push some dark agenda.

Despite the recent controversy, the science behind anthropogenic (man made) climate change is solid, and backed up by an international consortium representing over 97% of the world’s publishing experts on the subject in a variety of interdisciplinary fields. On top of scientific consensus, various international groups have recently put wind back in the sails of action.

The nations of the former British Empire released a united statement: “Seeking to limit global warming, leaders from the 53-nation Commonwealth said that a “legally binding” pact on ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions should be adopted no later than next year. The summit also agreed on a fund, worth up to $10 billion per year, that should be created to realize the initiative.”

Perhaps more importantly, a league of developing nations who may have the most to lose from the benefits of development of a fossil fuel energy industry with no environmental safeguards have also offered assurances. According to Reuters, they have created a Climate Change Front.

Greenhouse gasses are reaching record levels. “The globally averaged mixing ratio of CO2 in 2008 was 385.2ppm (number of molecules of the gas per million molecules of dry air). It was an increase of 2.0ppm from 2007, continuing an exponential increase. CO2 contributes 63.5 percent to the increase in overall radiative forcing since 1750.” With temperatures continuing to rise with planetary industrialization and the expanding usage of the world’s finite fossil fuel resources, it appears that there may finally be momentum towards modest changes in our energy policy. The strength of this action is still in flux, but the momentum towards some type of accord is building.