BIOMASS HUB

It is now widely believed that a new Climate Change Treaty is on the back burner and a two-step process has been floated to take its place.  In the strongest indication that a deal will not be struck December 7-18 in Copenhagen, APEC leaders meeting in Singapore this week announced that a binding treaty just isn’t in the cards.

Over the past decade since the signing of Kyoto, momentum has steadily moved towards a more robust regime in spite of US refusal to ratify the landmark global warming treaty.  Leading up to the talks until about a month ago, many hoped that US efforts to regulate greenhouse gases under ACES, which passed the House June 26, would lead to a renewed commitment by the world’s leading CO2 emitter.  But now with partisan battles threatening to derail a Senate bill, hopes for US leadership and a multilateral deal in Copenhagen are likely dashed.

While it is not fair to attribute failure to the US’ inability to pass binding legislation alone, as the world’s leading economy and largest emitter, it certainly was the nail in the coffin.  Perhaps United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it best while meeting with the US Senate last week: “all eyes of the world are on the Senate” to put the U.S. offer to reduce carbon pollutants into law.  The Senate hasn’t delivered, and now efforts to negotiate a foundation for a more binding Treaty are underway.

By their nature, international negotiations are painfully drawn out processes.  But with so much anticipation leading up to Copenhagen, this latest setback could have significant consequences for building meaningful consensus at a time when so much is at stake.

Image: Flickr/Seema K K