Setting the bar as low as possible

Poznan Climate Talks Endangered by Global Crisis

Although bringing 190 nations to the table to discuss the delicate problems of climate change and global warming was no easy deal, the United Nations predicts a "gloomy" outcome, among talks of the widely-spread financial crisis. Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, predicts that participant countries will invoke all kinds of reasons to avoid making changes, citing their monetary difficulties.

De Boer says that it will only take 0.12 percent of the world's GDP to reach even the highest of goals, by 2030. Already, the US, through President Obama, announced a plan of cutting back on CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and with a further 80 percent by 2050, but all these efforts will be in vain if the largest polluter in the world, China, does not cooperate with the international effort. India, as one of the strongest developing economies, must also be included in future agreements, and Brazil as well.

Starting December 1st, representatives from most nations in the world will meet in Poland's fifth largest city, Poznan, to discuss the state of the climate. They will also go over an 86-page proposal, containing the "blueprints" for future plans of tackling climate change, such as new, energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy.

Industry lobbyists are expected to make a lot of noise, treading in the footsteps of large corporations, which, at the first signs of the current crisis, said that the financial situation would not allow for the reaching of expensive objectives, implying the targets set for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. UN officials say this is bogus, as a minimal effort on their part would ensure a smooth transition to cleaner manufacturing processes.

I wonder why the UN has failed to model appropriate behavior for us--why haven't they made minimal investments in their Geneva and New York buildings to demonstrate dramatic CO2 emissions reductions?