Two of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases in the world have formally agreed to join the Copenhagen climate accord: China and India. The two now stand alongside 190 other countries in a fight to limit the rise in global temperatures (Although the document was intended to be adopted by all countries last December, several last-minute objections by a group of countries allowed them to join the accord later on if they wished. Russia is now the last country that has yet to say whether or not it will join).
India sent its letter yesterday to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, formally stating it was planning to join the accord. A single-sentence letter signed by China's chief climate change negotiator Su Wei stated that the United Nations “can proceed to include China in the list of parties” supporting the Copenhagen climate accord.
India plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 20 to 25 percent by 2020, while China plans to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 40 to 45 percent by 2020, both in comparison to levels in 2005.
I think that it's great the world is finally starting to take global warming seriously. It's especially great the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters as part of the Copenhagen climate accord: China in first place, and the U.S. in second. Although seeing actual results will take years, we all have finally set our sights on cutting down carbon emissions and promoting green energy. For those of you writing about the environment in your term paper (and those of you who aren't), how do you feel about this? Are any of you skeptical about the expected success of the Copenhagen accord?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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6 comments:
I think that this is definitely a step in the right direction as far as combating global climate change, but I do feel skeptical about whether or not the Copenhagen climate accord will actually work.
It is great that it is getting countries around the world thinking about and planning to do something to fight climate change, but whether or not the countries are actually going to do what they say they will is still undetermined. I think that until we actually start to see results, all we can do is hope for the best and try to stay positive that this is the catalyst for saving the state of our planet.
YEAH India!! It is really good that more and more countries are joining the green movement. Countries in Asia can have a HUGE impact in reducing pollution considering that many products are made in China. Green jobs=more employment. And India's economy can improve. Woot woot!
This is great! It will greatly make a difference in helping the environment when China and India start to go green because both countries are greatly populated and they have huge factories that contribute in polluting the world. By going green, these two countries will motivate and influence other nations to start going green as well!
I'm really glad that China and India decided to join the Copenhagen climate accord and start working to be more environmentally conscious. It is definitely a step in the right direction, although im sure it will take a few years for the results to show. I am a little skeptical about this though because a country can say they will join and try to go more globally green, but actions speak louder than words. I am looking forward to seeing results and hopefully that is sooner rather than later. However, we now need Russia to join. Russia is large country as well and we need everyone to agree to work to save the earth.
I also think that this is a pretty big step in the right direction. However, the two countries need to follow in their words. I know that it is very hard for two countries on the road of heavy industrialization, to cut their carbon emissions. However, this will probably bring even more jobs to people (building more efficient machines, buildings, etc). If the countries stand by their word and change, their is hope yet for the future of our planet.
-Henry Zhang
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