| Tuesday 8th of December 2009 |
|
In the second day of COP15 in Copenhagen still
the same debate concerning global warming. Negotiators at the Copenhagen
climate change should agree to limit global warming to two degree Celsius by
mid of this century and countries must make better offers of actions. Energy ministers from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland and Luxemburg promised to develop a new offshore power grid to link electricity produced from sea based wind power turbines. The European Union is running to generate a fifth of all its energy from renewable sources by 2020 to reduce reliance on imported oil and gas, and to meet climate change goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA "Environmental Protection Agency" concludes that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. Although, Swedish Minister for Environment Andrea Carlgren, has said that the union would not reveal its emissions cuts until the very last moment. The foreign Minister Bernard Kouchnar says that a very small tax 0.005% on financial transactions would help developing countries fight poverty, promote education and health, and meet the costs of combating climate change. He added that France has been working on the tax idea for year and hosted a conference in Paris in October with 59 countries as well as financial and economic experts to put together a proposal. UN secretary, General Ban KI moon expresses, hope that the French proposal "will be discussed in Copenhagen as a way to generate financial support in addition to public funding to be provided by the government. He said "the more ambitious, the stronger agreement we have in Copenhagen, the easier, the quicker the process we will have to a legally binding treaty in 2010, as early as possible". Hasan Mahmoud (the State Minister of Environment and Forest) emphases that Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. He said "the population of our one coastal district is bigger than the entire population of all island countries and in that consideration at least 15% of any climate fund should come to us". In some areas like Africa and Central Asia, this will probably be the warmest year, but overall 2009, is likely to be about the 5th warmest year on record. Few climate refugees leave their countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, several West African, South East Asian and Central American countries may become potential future international migration hotspots which are also identified. These are countries which have high emigration rates, face enormous socio - economic challenges, and which experience significant slow onset climate related disasters of which have an important on issues such as food security. Indonesia, former chain of the Group of 77, proposes to extend the time frame for a new global climate treaty until June 2010. But there is conflict of interests within the Group. Developing countries are infelicitous about the new proposed division between the least developed and other developing nations. Another point of concern is the draft's suggestion to transfer more control over the enforcement of the Copenhagen agreement from the UN administration, playing an absolute key role in Kyoto Protocol, to the World Bank. |