The 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference just wrapped up in Warsaw, Poland. Like too many environmental conferences with a heavy political/economic presence (so just about all of them), little in terms of tangible conclusions and plans were made. The meetings marked the 19th annual Conference of the Parties (COP 19), formed after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an environmental treaty from 1992. It also served as the 9th meeting of the parties involved in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, from which Canada was so infamously removed by the Harper government in 2012.
The negotiations highlighted the differences between richer and poorer countries, especially in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Discussions for a measure to compensate for natural disasters, in the form of a fund to be delegated according to need, were conducted. It is often developing countries who contribute the least to environmental problems who end up being affected by it the most. A push for discussions on a climate change compensation for such countries has been a issue for many years, with few results. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was established in the UNFCCC in order to transfer monetary aid from developed countries to developing ones, to help in imposing adaptive infrastructure, architecture, and mitigation processes in order to help combat the effects of climate change. However, as the majority of the money (roughly $100 billion/year by 2020) would most likely come from the richer countries, those countries have subsequently proposed less substantial alternatives to the plan. It was hoped that the GCF would be capitalized with the discussions of in COP 19, but little headway was made in the financial discussions.
The hefty disagreements and lack of progress set the stage for acts of civil disobedience amongst many of those present in the decision-making process. Filipino delegate and climate negotiator Yeb Saño imposed a hunger strike upon himself for the duration of the COP, in solidarity with those who were suffering in the Philippines from the typhoon, in an attempt to facilitate meaningful discussion. He was since joined by environmentalists of several nations and faiths, American students, European activists, and members of various organizations. The pressure was added when Wael Hmaidan, president of the Climate Action network, joined in as well. Despite this, countries like Australia were still stubborn in avoiding financial commitments, resulting in the delegates from 132 developing countries walking out during discussions for the loss and damage compensations in protest. Furthermore, when the last day of negotiations came around and things still weren’t looking up, several environmental organizations such as WWF, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace also walked out. It is hoped that 2014 will bring more dialogue, and that enforceable regulations can be established by 2015.
Overall, the goal of the conference (and all other COP conferences for that matter) is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. UNFCCC executives hope to ensure that peak emissions occur in this decade and that humans achieve zero net emissions in the near future. Environmental legislation that is both binding and enforceable is crucial in guaranteeing a quality future for human beings and the entire planet. However, it still seems like money disputes and economic gain will always stand in the way of solid decisions in the environmental area.
Leave a Reply