The Durban Summit is over, but the problems are still there. What remains clear after the arduous negotiations is that we are having a hard time working towards the future, making sacrifices for others, and being accountable for the environmental problems caused by generations of the recent past and that of our own.
In all likelihood, the Durban Summit (South Africa) will go down in history more as a UN success than a key step forward in the struggle against climate change. While some have described it as a “milestone”, certain environmentalist groups or countries like China have criticized the “lack of will” of developed countries. Continuation of the Kyoto Protocol has been under debate since 1995 at the different summits organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and time after time they can clearly be summed up as being “a lot of talking the talk but little walking the walk”. Albeit with an uncertain fate, the Kyoto Protocol has been extended, but Canada, Japan, Russia and the U.S., which failed to ratify the protocol in 1997, have pulled out. No surprise there. The biggest polluters are therefore excluded, for the European Union and the nations that have signed up to extension of the protocol are responsible for only 15% of pollutant gas emissions. What has been established, however, is the institution of a roadmap, proposed by the EU, towards a legally binding deal by 2015 to cut emissions. In other words, it has been established to come to a decision in the future.
Nevertheless, Durban shall indeed go down in history for turning the city into the birthplace of the Green Climate Fund. This was an issue of great concern to developing nations. The fund will be allocated to help developing countries deal with natural disasters occurring as the result of climate change.
As far as forest protection is concerned, there are no new developments. Gaining momentum, therefore, is the idea of financing for forest protection coming from industrial power plants that would not have to drastically cut their emissions due to the absorption of carbon dioxide.
Those who always lose keep losing and those who do nothing continue to keep their arms folded. However, this is a game we all lose. CO2 emissions entail irreversible global consequences and make no distinctions between the guilty and the innocent. We all suffer the consequences.
There are plenty of reasons why Earth can no longer wait, and we need a legally binding agreement to compel all of us to preserve the world left to us by our predecessors. The only way for us to “save tomorrow today” is to lower emissions through less-contaminating energy generation, promote responsible energy use, make use of the energy sources provided by our planet, and make ourselves aware of the need for immediate change. Political will and awareness must go hand in hand with Qatar in 2015 or we shall once again see a clear example of how our planet continues to suffer while we argue. Imperative, above all, is political will, for Science, with a capital S, has said everything it has to say on the matter.
