Industrialized Nations: Adjusting their views and goals for development and emissions reduction.

 Recently we discussed the Copenhagen Agreement, a document drafted during the 15^th session of the Conference of Parties at the United Nations Framework convention on climate change. It was created by the United States in partnership with newly industrialized nations China, India, and Brazil. The conference discussed issues such as the number of international agreements to be negotiated, the future of the Kyoto Protocol, and how to create targets for maximum global temperature increase, carbon emissions, and aggregate emissions reductions. The debate over emissions reductions created a partition between participants on whether developing countries actions should be subject to international measuring, reporting, and verification. The west offered to finance developing nations proposed actions for emission reduction by placing $25 billion on to the table at the conference. However, China, India, and Brazil, the three main draggers against an emission reduction treaty, neglected to follow on their reported reduction pledges and reciprocate. Instead, this bloc continued to lean on their freedom to develop despite possible environmental impacts. In the video we watched in class, the Chinese representative mentions how past action by industrialized nations caused the majority of climate change. China believed that they as well as other newly industrialized nations should not have their progress impeded due to other nations past actions.

     The actions of the newly industrialized countries, China, India, and Brazil impeded the conference from drawing up an effective treaty to follow up the Kyoto Protocol and reduce emissions. I believe that newly industrialized countries need to modernize from the standpoint that traditional polluters are responsible for the climate change issues. Also, the newly industrialized need to adjust their own policies to balance their development and their impact on cumulative emissions in order to better cooperate with the global communities goals on climate change.

     I believe that newly industrialize countries need to modernize from the standpoint that traditional polluters should be responsible for their past actions, and this standpoint should be removed from the discussion of multilateral treaties on climate change. As China, India, and Brazil continue to develop, their emissions continue to rise. Past contributors such as the industrialized nations in the EU as well as the US and Japan have implemented programs to reduce emissions. These programs include investing in renewable energy research, electric automobiles, and increasing the amount of green energy used by the citizens of these nations. With these programs, established nations have begun cutting down on their current impacts and amending their historical impacts on climate change. When looking at a graph of GDR responsibility, China creates about 24% of the total emissions, but is not held responsible for 18% of the total emissions. China has its sovereign right to run its economy as it would like, but I believe that it needs to step away from the traditional emissions argument. China needs to accept responsibility and alter its policies to behave like an industrialized nation, which means to curb its emissions.

     Emissions and development are a linked issue that affects many of the developing nations on the globe. China as well as India and Brazil have neglected to cooperate in past meetings, i.e. the conference in Copenhagen. Such lack of cooperation cannot be tolerated, as economic competition for development cannot take precedence over the destruction of the environment. The environment provides all of the resources that nations use to develop their economies and standard of living. As countries have developed so has globe’s environment and thus so have the roles industrialized and developing nations must play in the global economy. Newly industrialized countries, specifically, China and India create a new niche in the global economy and the climate change discussion. This niche must allow nations to properly balance responsibility for emissions and their ability to develop. A balance is necessary in order to meet the goals of the nations themselves and the greater global community especially regarding of climate change. We cannot have political ploys being played such as the opening and closing of negotiations in Copenhagen that lead to the US, India, China, and Brazil agreeing to delete of the “legally binding” negotiation outcome. Previously mooted 2020 goals for a future treaty transformed proposed emissions reductions from 80% in industrialized countries to a 50% reduction of cumulative global emissions. Actions such as this deflate any progress in emissions reduction. Having no cooperation from newly industrialized countries such as China, India, and Brazil leads to the weakening of these policies and treaties because nations have no incentive to gather or penalty to fear for adhering to agreements such as the Copenhagen Agreement. The newly industrialized countries specifically China, need to adapt their stance on the relationship between their development and responsibility for emissions reduction. A more responsible stance would foster better cooperation between newly industrialized countries and the rest of the global community during treaty negotiations on climate change.