Our survey shows that nearly a third of the respondents does not know the COP21.
This is the 21st of the United Nations conference on climate change, meaning the annual gathering of all countries willing to act on climate.
This conference is taking place from November 30th to December 11th, 2015 at Le Bourget in France.
This is a crucial deadline since it must lead to a new international climate agreement, applicable to all, to keep global warming below 2°C to go toward an economy of low-carbon
At the first day of the meeting, 184/195 countries were present at Le Bourget. Some countries as Syria or North Corea were absent, and countries as Vatican and Palestine were not invited. Meaning almost everyone is on the line of energy saving, agricultural adaptation to climate change, water resources issues, on the need of degassing the transport sector, etc. These are points that are found in almost all copies.
A bit of history to understand better the issue of COP21
The first international meeting concerning environment took place in Stockholm in 1972, this is the beginning of considering the environmental issues in the international agenda.
1992: in Rio, there was what we called the Earth Summit. This was a first step to find a « green » diplomacy. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was adopted there. Many countries recognized the principle of common but differentiated responsibility of countries on the environment, the right to development and the precautionary principle. This last ont is used by policy makers to justify discretionary decisions in situations where there is the possibility of harm because of a certain decision when scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking.
1995: COP’s meeting is created, since this date, countries shall meet to fight against climate change. This issue served as the policy basis of Kyoto Protocol in 1997 or COP3, the treaty requires to 37 industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emission by 2012 to 5.20% compared to 1990, but no constraints were taken on big emerging countries as China or India : major polluters. The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 set for the first time to developed countries quantified commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Entered into force in 2005, the protocol was to cover the period 2008-2012.
2009: it is the COP15 in Copenhagen which was not far from a failure. The non-binding agreement tried to limit global warming to 2°C but without giving the user guide to get there. Developed countries also committed themselves to mobilize $ 100 billion per year from 2020 for developing countries to cope with climate change. In Cancun in 2010, the realization of the objective of 2°C has been allowed by the creation of institutions dedicated on key issues such as the Green Climate Fund.
2011: it is the COP17 or Durban Package in South Africa, which also almost turned into a fiasco, but is still provided a timetable for an agreement in 2015 covering all industrialized countries the US and China in the lead. The will to act collectively resulted in the creation of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (PEA), which is mandated to gather around the table all countries, developed and developing to work on a "protocol, a legal instrument or an outcome with legal force" applicable to all Parties to the UN Climate Convention. This agreement should be adopted in 2015 and implemented from 2020.
Today, in 2015, the goal is to establish an international agreement as defined during the Durban meeting.