The significance of the Copenhagen Conference - Essay Example

The Significance of the Copenhagen Conference Global warming and its consequences are issues that have elicited a lot of debates across the world. While everybody concurs that factors that lead to global warming should be addressed, different parties disagree on the best way to go about it. World leaders will be converging in the Danish capital of Copenhagen from December 7th to December 18th to discuss this calamity that is global warming (Bulow). With the Copenhagen Conference just a few days away, the world will be waiting to see just how their leaders will propose to combat global warming.

US and China’s Position on Global WarmingThe United States is one of the countries that have greatly contributed to global warming through huge amounts of toxic emissions from its industries. According to Broder, the former Bush administration was a bit skeptical about the significance of global warming to world climate. However the new Obama administration seems open to the issue. In the past, the US has treated climate change as a non-issue, focusing on it only during political campaigns.Presently there are signs that the US government might reconsider its hard-line stance on global warming.

It had already agreed to cut its emissions by 17% in 2005. By the year 2030, US plans to cut emissions by 42% and 83% by 2050 (Broder).China is also one of the world’s biggest air polluter and a lot of pressure has been put on that country’s government to come up with platform to regulate the emissions that come from industries in China. China has already agreed to cut CO2 emissions per GDP unit by 40 to 45% by the year 2020 (Zhi Lin).Position of the Rest of the World The whole world certainly agrees that global warming needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

For instance the UK has already formally agreed to cut emissions by 20%. Countries in the European region also agreed to cut their emissions by the same margin (Bulow).As a result of global warming, the world is becoming hotter. The Polar Regions are melting and this in turn is causing the sea level to rise. It has been said that some islands might disappear if the situation is not addressed. Deserts are increasing and many people are going without water and food. This is not what the world wants, and the sooner this climate issue is resolved, the better it will be for everyone (Anup).

Significance of the Copenhagen ConferenceThe conference comes at a time when the world is hard pressed to address factors that have led to global warming and severe climate change in various parts of the world. If the world leaders come to a practical agreement, this could be a huge step towards saving the world from utter destruction.However the conference might end up like so many climate-based conferences before it, which did not produce any conclusive solution to the problem of global warming.

If this happens, it is the ordinary people who will continue to suffer as the world climate changes for the worse. It is sad that poor nations from Africa, Asia and elsewhere in the world, which have very little to do with global warming, are the ones who will take the brunt. I very much hope that the conference produces something worthwhile. World leaders need to start taking responsibility of the actions of their countries, and if they can help put a stop to this menace, then they should do it and do it fast.

Works CitedBroder, John. Obama Hobbled in Fight Against Global Warming. Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.Bulow, Michael. Commonwealth Puts Weight behind Climate Deal. En.cop15.dk. Cop15 Copenhagen, 29 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.Anup, Shah. Climate Change and Global Warming. Globalissues.org. Global Issues, 18 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.Zhi, Lin. China’s Climate Change pledge ‘serious and solemn’: Premier. Xinhuanet.com. Window of China, 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.