Summit on Climate!!

With the latest Copenhagen Summit in talks these days… and most importantly it is concerning our very own lives… I consider it is worth to have an opinion on this…

Before going back the history, Kyoto Protocol… have a look at the figure:

In the adjacent figure,

Green --> indicates those countries which ratified the Kyoto Protocol agreement (187)

Grey --> yet to decide on that factor

Red --> not bothered / worried about the protocol

Surprisingly so, US which contributes to 20.2% of global carbon levels(2006 data) is not at all interested in joining the club to curb emission levels! China, major manufacturing hub of the world, tops again here with emission levels of 21.5%. India is decent enough (but how do you define decency here!) emitting just about 5% of the total world’s emission levels.

Kyoto Protocol, entered into force in Feb 16^th 2005, aims at stabilizing emission of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. The greenhouse gases in an atmosphere absorb and emit the same radiations within a particular range. These gases include Carbon dioxide, Methane, Fluorocarbons, Nitrous Oxide and Sulphur hexafluoride. Kyoto Protocol encourages carbon Trading as it sets a cap on the country’s emission levels, which started getting traded on LME (London Metal Exchange) from 2005.

Before going to the topic that we started off with… let’s see the opinions my friends bear in their minds :)

Vyas: I don't know if there are any metrics to measure nations' compliance to emission standards. And I am not sure if carbon credits serves as the best metric. There needs to be a mandate to make sure developed nations are not going to bend rules in their favor.. like there have been talks to cancel the kyoto protocol. And finally there should not be any bias towards developed nations given their strength and domination

Aditya: They say its rich vs poor and india agreeing to cut down carbon dioxide emissions.

Furobiker: Gives his opinion here.. hmm!

Well, every1 seem to have an idea… after all thats the talk of the town for any newspaper reader… and it’s a GD topic for any MBA aspirant :)

Copenhagen Summit starting (continuing at this moment) Dec 7^th-18^th in Copenhagen is to keep the Kyoto Protocol in line and to keep the process initiated running. 2days left to finish the conference and there isn’t much improvement in the scenario. But there are a few points to discuss here :

· India has voluntarily pledged to cut its emission intensity by 20-25 per cent by 2020

· Serious differences between Australia and India regarding the extension of Kyoto Protocol year.

· Developed countries wanting obligations on emerging economies as well.

· Arnold Schwarzenegger has lauded the efforts of people in India for initiating the ‘Lighting a Billion’ lives project.

· Preserving forests to reduce carbon emissions.

· Ban-Ki-Moon suggests to "seal the deal” in the Copenhagen.

Copenhagen conference talks a lot about the exploitation done by developed economies. Apart from the reduction commitment given by India it is also committed to double renewable energy from 7 to 8 per cent by 2020, to ensure that 7 to 10 per cent of greenhouse gases will be sequestered by forest cover and to double in 10 years the 3 million trees already planted.

It’s clear fact that developed nations cause most of the pollution in the world due to its industrial development. In spite of that vivid reason, they want obligations on developing nations! They come up with less than ambitious targets which just can’t arrest the global greenhouse gases… leave about global, not even their own emissions! Instead of pointing fingers at others, developed nations should start with their innovations for green planet! Well, China’s nuclear improvement should not be forgotten at all… I think emission levels should also focus on the generation of nuclear weapons and China would stand high then J

Everyone should understand that pollution is a global issue. An increase of 2deg centigrade would melt the ice-caps and sooner we would be facing Artificial Tsunami caused by US! And Indian government should Educate Carbon Trading to its industry players as India can earn hell lot outta it! And the final request to readers, GO GREEN!! :)