What is Copenhagen?

Copenhagen simplified for kids

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is hosting the fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15). The abbreviation COP 15, means that this is the fifteenth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

What is the FCCC?
The FCCC is an international treaty to stabilise the level of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat within the atmosphere which heats up the earth.

The FCCC was produced at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. 192 countries have signed the FCCC.

The treaty does not fix the maximum levels of greenhouse gas emissions per country. It is not a law, instead it calls for protocols to fix levels. The Kyoto Protocol is the most important protocol of the FCCC.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and in force from 2005, asks developed countries to promise to reduce their emissions of four greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, and two groups of gases: hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.

187 countries have ratified the treaty. United States of America, which emits the highest amount of carbon dioxide per person, has not ratified the treaty. They have not ratified it because they want legally binding levels of emission also on developing countries and, they feel that by reducing emissions to Kyoto specified levels, they will become less productive and their economy will suffer.

Yet, many states and cities in the US are using their own methods to cut emissions.

Why are people in Copenhagen fighting?

Protestors in Copenhagen feel that developed countries want to escape their responsibility of cutting emissions. Leaked documents of negotiations between developed countries show that they want to sideline the UN and create divisions among poorer countries. This has angered developing countries. Developed countries are trying to shirk their responsibilities under the Kyoto Protocol.

Also, developing countries like India want no legally binding deal on when our emissions should peak, after which it will be reduced. Also, we want no legally binding emission cuts. The principle of the Kyoto Protocol puts greater responsibility to cut emissions on developed countries which have polluted the most. But what countries like the US want work out to them polluting twice as much as we do.

We also do not want any foreign agency to be checking what we do on our own about pollution. Such measures include removing vehicles that consume excess fuel, environment friendly construction and clean coal technology which will reduce India’s carbon emissions by 20 to 25 per cent by 2020.

(something that didn't make it to Young World. Nice one for the year end I hope)