The World Goes to Copenhagen Part ll

From December 7th to the 18th the world will hold a Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. Governmental representatives from 190 countries are expected to be in Copenhagen in the days leading up to the conference accompanied by other governmental representatives, NGO's, journalists and others. In total 8000 people are expected to Copenhagen in the days of the climate change meetings.

The conference in Copenhagen is the 15th conference of parties (COP15) in the Framework Conventions on Climate Change. The last most recent meeting in United Nations Climate Change Conferences was held in December 2007 in Bali.

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. To keep the process on the line there is an urgent need for a new climate change protocol. At the conference in Copenhagen 2009 the parties meet for the last time on a government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed.

Therefore the Climate Conference in Copenhagen is essential for the world’s climate and the Danish government is putting a hard effort in making the meeting in Copenhagen a success ending up with a Copenhagen Protocol to prevent global warming and climate changes.
Research shows that most Canadians don’t understand the science of global warming, or how it could affect their health, communities and livelihoods. On the flip side, as Canadians grow to understand climate change — what’s happening, why, and what we can do about it — they become more likely to support the policies and practices that are necessary to combat global warming.

Despite the unprecedented threat of climate change, many people still doubt the science or question the economic case for action. Skeptics think that the science is to wishy- washy or wrong all together. However, the world’s most authoritative scientific bodies emphatically recognize the evidence and danger of human-caused climate change. The only uncertainty is how quickly change will occur — and the latest science shows it happening faster than anticipated.

Some experts think that global warming is just a trend and things will get back to normal eventually. They are correct in that climate change is normal, but geologic history shows that
sudden warming shocks to the earth’s systems can and will cause rapid sea-level rise and mass extinctions. An average global warming of only 2°C would result in serious impacts on Canadian ecosystems, infrastructure and the resource-based economy sectors, such as farming, fishing and forestry.

Lisa Emery, B.A. is currently living in Amherst. Lisa invites comments to her column. You can contact Lisa at: emeryvine@gmail.com or view her blog at http://emeryvinegrapevine.blogspot.com