Outcomes from the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

Outcomes from the climate change conference in Copenhagen depend largely on one's view point. For the first time, the United States and China joined other major countries in an agreement to cut emissions and pledged to commit a hundred billion each year to help less developed countries.

However, these are mere pledges and not legally binding. All parties simply agreed on certain issues associated with reducing global warming to keep the global temperature below 2C. Less developed countries agreed to make an effort to cut emissions and report to the UN as they will be internationally funded.

Funds have also been set up to develop forest preservation for poorer countries which is already underway. As for the hundred billion dollar yearly pledge, the economy isn't what it should be but these leaders were no doubt briefed before attending the meeting about financial commitments and were well aware of their limits so the funds may indeed be made available.

Most of the world's major world governments believe that global warming and climate change represent a serious threat to humanity. Countries that supported the conference were the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, France, Germany and the UK. Those who opposed were Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Cuba.

The new treaty agreed upon at Copenhagen was much more complicated than the Kyoto agreement. Governments will be working on a new international agreement for lowering emissions in order to address global warming in the decades ahead. The United States will be following the 1997 Byrd-Hagel Resolution and refused to enter into a treaty that leaves out major developing nations or threatens the American economy.

Apparently the conference didn't impress very many people as there has been very little discussion on the outcome. The whole event is basically voluntary and participants mainly discuss who is responsible and the "what to do" and "when to do it" questions.

It's inconceivable that 192 countries could come together on such a controversial topic and come to any kind of feasible agreement. Nevertheless, the conference proceeded with little to no conflicts or altercations.

A number of those who attended the climate change conference in Copenhagen seemed very disappointed in the outcome while others viewed the results as a positive step toward addressing the issues associated with climate change.

Barack Obama encouraged many of the major world leaders to join the United States' efforts in reducing global warming. According to a U.N. news release, Obama urged them to, "fund developing nations' projects to deal with droughts, floods and other impacts of climate change, and to develop clean energy."

Truth be told, the outcomes from the climate change conference seemed to be positive as a treaty was agreed upon. However, with the exception of the countries that opposed the conference it seemed more or less to be nothing more than a social gathering of world leaders.