Are climate negotiations moving forward? Yes, but at a crawl. The results of the past two COP gatherings have yielded two documents: the Copenhagen Accord and the Cancun Agreements. The Copenhagen Accord, written at COP 15, is a short document expressing the recognition that global climate change is a serious problem and the only way to address it is through serious cutbacks in emissions. It also clearly states that two degrees Celsius is the target for maximum temperature change. This in itself is not a novel idea; however, the last sentence of the document asks for “consideration of strengthening the long-term goal referencing various matters presented by the science, including in relation to temperature rises of 1.5 degrees Celsius.” The idea to cut emissions below the minimum required has not … Read entire article »