Copenhagen Debrief

From the BBC: What did the Copenhagen climate summit achieve? we get an interesting spin on what, for all intents and purposes, was a complete failure. The BBC suggests that the global “balance of power has significantly changed in the last 20 years”, that “the conference redefined the debate between countries in terms of awareness of climate science and support for action”, that “[p]ublic awareness has [also] massively increased”, and that “green growth is now the prevailing economic model of our time.” If these are the sorts of things news analysts consider “achievements” then it’s safe to say Copenhagen addressed everything BUT how to stop climate change/global warming.

To its credit, the BBC does acknowledge what was NOT accomplished:

That combination of political will, economic direction and public pressure was not enough to overcome the concerns over sovereignty that many countries have in the context of international law. The final decision reflects the fact that many countries only want to be answerable to themselves. They will co-operate, but not under the threat of legal sanction.

There is no quantified aggregate target for emissions reduction such as the 50% by 2050 that was in early drafts – as it stands, targets are yet to be announced and they may be at the low end of what was promised, locking in ever greater emissions.

The reference to transparency in the text is significant as it will mean that for the first time actions by countries can be assessed globally, but there is no verification of the actions undertaken in the developing world unless they are paid for by the developed world.

Also, there is very little detail on any of the elements it does mention.

Translated into taxpayer-speak, what was NOT accomplished was successfully strong-arming struggling economies into spending money they don’t have on problems they don’t see as being critical enough to forgo the futures of their children and grandchildren in order to resolve.

The climate alarmists return home to recalibrate the data and the message, the world leaders return home to the next crisis on their list, and the taxpayer’s wallets remain intact for another day.

[cross posted at Speak Out For America. Go there for the latest on the Copenhagen shenanigans, and go HERE to tell Congress to OPPOSE any treaty in Copenhagen.]