Is the Copenhagen Summit a Vacation for Delegates?

A Failed Idea?

(Image from peterblanchard, Flickr.com)

Why has a summit in Copenhagen to discuss climate change inviting thousands of delegates, journalists and activists from over 200 countries? The intentions of the summit may have been good, but the fact is that it has turned out to be a vacation in disguise for many who could have done better without it. These are not people who have taken a personal loan or borrowed money to be in Copenhagen. It seems more likely that their governments have wasted their tax payer’s money to send them there. What exactly have they been able to achieve? Copenhagen has managed to accumulate the 46,200 tons of carbon dioxide that it was actually trying to reduce across the world.

No Difference for Developed Countries

Developed countries are perhaps in the best position to attend a summit such as this, as it made no difference to their finances if they were looking to cut down on costs. The Kyoto agreement imposed fines on developed countries for failing to meet emission requirements, which was something they were looking to avoid, but promises worth billions of dollars were made if the Kyoto agreement was scrapped in favor of a new agreement. Instead, they attempted to shift the blame of all emissions on developing countries at this expensive and unnecessary summit.

Developing Countries Not to Blame

If a comparison of the carbon dioxide emissions at Copenhagen is taken into account during this summit, it amounts to the sum total of carbon dioxide emissions produced each year by 2,300 Americans against 660,000 Ethiopians. The figure may sound absurd but is a true evaluation, and is blamed on the vastly different consumption patterns of the two countries based on a report published in the United States in 2006. It is clear that the summit is a cover by some developed countries to pass on the blame and ask developing countries to cut emissions or face fines. Was this a way to get the developing countries to borrow more money from the IMF and/or the World Bank to meet these standards? No one can really answer that, but it seems that it may be true.

What Decisions Have Been Reached?

While negotiations are still on between some countries, others are creating a host of objections that are largely being ignored. It may all turn out to be an expensive vacation for the delegates, journalists and activists who ended up in Copenhagen, not to mention the fact that they would have some explaining to do after returning back home. What about all the money that was spent attending the summit? As no lender became involved in advancing any type of loans to the delegates and journalists, they may have nothing to worry about. Activists, however, made their own arrangements to reach Denmark, some of whom may have had to take out a personal loan to finance the trip. Was the overall expense justified? Now, they must confront their lender with excuses about how they are going to either repay or extend the loans they had taken.

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