Nov. 19, 2009

Stalemate anticipated at Copenhagen climate meeting

LOST RIVER, WV, Nov. 19, 2009 (RISI) - International leaders expect little or nothing to come of next month's United Nations conference on climate change, which will be held in Copenhagen. Since most of the 40 participating nations are still not settled on their own domestic greenhouse emissions policies, any binding agreement in Denmark is highly unlikely, sources agree.

The Wall Street Journal recently noted that leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum acknowledged that the US and China were not ready to commit to any climate deal. "The Copenhagen announcement also illustrates the political difficulty of negotiating limits on industrial greenhouse-gas emissions," The Journal said, "as countries grapple with a weak global economy and concerns that emission caps could drive up energy prices."

While there was hope that the conference would end in an agreement to put new language in place before the 2012 expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, participants are giving a "wait and see" until 2010. And in fact, Danish prime minister and conference host Lars Rasmussen was hoping to draft a plan this year and finalize details next year.