Five things that you need to know about...
The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009
In one months time 192 countries from around the world will meet to agree on how to tackle international climate change - but what does it all mean?
These handy facts from the Eco-Schools team will help......
1. Copenhagen is the location of a major international climate change conference between 7-15 December this year. It is taking place because the current agreement, the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and the agreement in Copenhagen will replace it.
2. The conference is important because the world is already experiencing the affects of climate change and governments are keen to find a solution. The main cause of climate change is burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas that create greenhouse gas emissions that warm the earth’s surface. People are affected by the increased temperatures as it causes rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns and other things that affect the survival of millions of people around the globe.
3. Copenhagen is the biggest climate change conference to happen. The main aim is to halt the earth’s temperature rise below 2 Celsius but for this to happen countries will have to make a dramatic decrease in their emissions, which will be costly for poorer countries that use less renewable energy.
4. It will take many months and years for all the countries to agree on a deal but this has to be done before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
5. The UK/EU has agreed a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, which may rise to 30%.
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The Words Explained A-Z
COP15
The conference is technically known as the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – often abbreviated as COP15.
CO2
CO2 is a gas, also known as carbon dioxide, which is formed by the burning of organic materials such as coal, oil, gas and wood. Humans and animals inhale oxygen and exhale CO2. Plants absorb CO2 and release oxygen. CO2 and water vapour (H2O) are the most important natural greenhouse gases.
Fossil fuels
Energy sources formed in the earth’s crust from the remains (fossils) of plants and animals that lived on earth many millions of years ago. Coal, oil and natural gas are fossil fuels. Uranium – for nuclear power – is sometimes counted as a fossil fuel, even though it is not formed from dead plants and animals, but is a naturally occurring element.
Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is the name given to a process occurring naturally that insulates the earth against the loss of heat into space. The greenhouse effect is necessary for life to exist on earth and is not a problem in itself. It is the increased greenhouse effect, which is the result of increased greenhouse gas emissions, that creates problems in the form of increased global warming. The greenhouse effect is not the same as the hole in the ozone layer, although CFC gases contribute to both phenomena.
Kyoto Protocol
Originated at the UNFCCC in 1997 and created targets for reducing emissions up until 2012. This agreement only applied to a small number of countries and was more flexible allowing countries to trade their emissions.
Renewable energy
Energy production based on sources of energy that do not run out, for example wind, water and solar power. The production of renewable energy does not in itself discharge greenhouse gases, but the production and the installation of plant, or other circumstances – for example the formation of methane in water reservoirs – can place a strain on the climate. This strain is however far smaller than when fossil fuels are used.
Links to useful websites;
Eco-Schools www.eco-schools.org.uk
Official conference website www.en.cop15.dk/
Government website www.actoncopenhagen.decc.gov.uk/en
BBC www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8278973.stm
Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/environment/copenhagen
The New Scientist www.newscientist.com/special/copenhagen-climate-change-summit
