Climate talks gaining momentum

With less than a week to the kick off of the highly anticipated COP 15 in Copenhagen, climate talks all over the world are gaining momentum.

The number of participating nations is growing, along with the many new ideas and announcements of renewed hope of sealing a deal. So far, 85 heads of state and government have accepted the invitation to attend. Although a legally binding deal is no longer believed to be attainable, there have been indications from many nations pointing to the seriousness of the challenges that lie ahead and awareness of the need for action in Copenhagen.

"There is a global understanding of the challenges facing us, although a political solution appears difficult. The main obstacle is how much technology and money the industrialised countries should hand over to developing nations so that their CO2 emissions do not constitute a threat to either the climate or their own economic growth," says head of Secretariat at Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster, Nicolai Sederberg Rottbøll.
For the first time in history, Africa is to participate in a UN summit conference with a single negotiating team empowered to negotiate on behalf of all member states of the African Union. The Union has estimated that developing countries will need $67 billion annually by 2020 to cope with the projected changes in rainfall and other effects of climate change.

China and the US to cut emissions

In the past week, China has announced the participation of Premier of State Wen Jiabao and the US the participation of President Barack Obama, which is expected to boost interest from the remaining 106 invitees. According to media reports, China and the US have proposed specific emission targets - something that has been the subject of much debate in the US. 
"Leading nations such as China, the US and India will not commit to a deal that is not equally impactive on the other leading countries, but if they can agree to cut their emissions it will be difficult for others not to follow. It will be interesting to observe the negotiations between them all," adds Nicolai Sederberg Rottbøll.