2015 United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change
"If we take action now, we can address climate change and build a sustainable future" – Janos Pasztor, Assistant Secretary-General and Senior Advisor of the Secretary-General on Climate Change UN
Next Monday marks the first day of the 21st annual international conference assembling all countries interested in taking action against climate change. This esteemed meeting – the Conference of the Parties (COP) - will be held in Le Bourget, France from November 30th to December 11th. It includes the 11th session of the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), an international treaty named for the city in Japan where it was adopted. The CMP was implemented to widely acknowledge the existence of global warming and actively fight mans’ contribution to the growing issue; those State Parties involved are committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The upcoming conference has the principal objective to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on the climate from all the nations of the world. Pope Francis joined the ranks of advocates for change when he published an encyclical entitled Laudato si’ that pleads for action against climate change. Over the next two weeks, the summit will entertain negotiators working to tackle the rising global temperature by effectively cutting greenhouse gas emissions. More than 140 world leaders will be in attendance; Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and David Cameron are among those scheduled to deliver speeches on the opening day.
The World Resource Institute (WRI) posted an article in 2014 detailing top GHG emitters. According to 2011 data, 10 countries produced nearly 70% of global GHG emissions including and excluding Land Use Change & Forestry (LUCF).
When observing the per capita emissions, North America takes a disturbing lead in GHG emissions, particularly when compared with the world average.
