COPENHAGEN CLIMATE SUMMIT

Why? “The science demands it, the economics support it, future generations require it.”
– Yvo de Boer, Head of the UNFCCC (the guy in charge of the conference)

Global problems require global solutions – but thatʼs easier said than done. Itʼs hard
enough to get politicians within a country to agree, let alone 192 different governments.
Enter the ʻUnited Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagenʼ (COP15).

What is the Copenhagen Climate Summit (COP15)?

From the 7th of December this year, heads of state and their governments will gather
in Copenhagen to determine a global response to climate change.

Remember the 1992 ʻEarth Summitʼ in Rio? It established a treaty to stabilise

greenhouse gas emissions, and gave birth to the ʻUnited Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC – get ready for a lot of acronyms!). Since
then, everyoneʼs met several times for ʻConferences of the Partiesʼ (COPs – ie. ʻKyotoʼ
was the Third COP). Copenhagen is COP number 15.

But why is this one so important?

Well, other than the obvious need to make this planet liveable for future generations,
COP15 is so important because the commitments made at Kyoto are about to run out.

When the first phase of the Kyoto treaty expires in 2012, weʼll be left without a binding
and unified plan to combat climate change. This summit must forge a successor to this
treaty and set new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions1.

Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, believes this conference marks
a turning point in the fight against dangerous climate change. Likened by many
politicians to the global agreements reached in the aftermath of WWII, the decisions
made during these negotiations will shape the future of our planet. The treaty needs to
allow us to make the transition to a greener and more sustainable form of growth.2

GetUp will join over 15,000 advisers, campaigners and dignitaries such as Barack
Obama, Wen Jiabao, Gordon Brown, and Kevin Rudd for these crucial negotiations.

What are the main issues that will be discussed?

This summit will try to answer four essential questions:3
1. How much are industrialised countries like Australia and the US willing to cut
their emissions?
2. What are developing countries, such as China and India, willing to do to limit
their greenhouse emissions?
3. How much money is industrialised nations willing to give developing countries
to help them adapt to climate change?
4. How is this money going to be governed?

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What would a good outcome look like? What should we look for?

A good outcome will be FAB – Fair, Ambitious and Binding. A legally Binding treaty
will commit countries to specific emissions cuts. But to avoid dangerous climate
change we need these cuts to be Ambitious. Developing countries, however, need a
Fair treaty to help them adapt to the affects of climate change (which was caused by
industrialised countries!) and find a way to develop their economies cleanly.

Here are some of the things to look for, which would be needed for a good outcome:4
• A commitment to limit global warming to less than 2ºC above pre-industrial
levels and to ensure that global emissions peak and begin to decline by 2020
• Getting developed countries to sign up to binding emissions reduction targets
• Getting developing countries to restrain their growth in emissions
• At least $150bn a year for developing countries to adapt to climate change
• Locking in a process to see a ratifiable treaty completed in the first half of 2010
• Agreement on how to reduce emissions from deforestation
• Agreement on binding targets to reduce emissions from shipping and aviation

But how likely is all that?

Thatʼs where you come in. Things arenʼt shaping up too well – lots needed to be
agreed on before this meeting that hasnʼt been – but that just means we, as citizens of
Australia and the world, need to redouble our efforts to hold our leaders to account.
This is our shot at setting the world on a course for a safe climate future.

Weʼre not asking for a miracle at Copenhagen, but leaders need to snap out of their
climate daze and seriously change the urgency and scope of their thinking. The only
way theyʼll do that is if there is enough global outcry to shake them from their slumber.

How can I do that, Iʼm only one person?!

You are a member of an international community of millions with just the same
concerns and passion to get their leaders to rise to the challenge before them.

GetUp will have a team on the ground in Copenhagen feeding back all the inside
scoop from inside the negotiations, and letting you know what the most important
actions you can be taking at home are. Click here to sign up for special updates.

Weʼll be joining a network of hundreds of organisations from around Australia and the
world who have been working hard to make sure governments arenʼt let off the hook,
and GetUp will be working with them all to make sure your efforts are targeted in the
best way possible to influence the outcome of the climate negotiations.

What can Australians do? Arenʼt we just a small player?

Australia will be directly affected by the decisions made in Copenhagen. As both a

potential source of renewable energy and the highest per capita emitters of
greenhouse gasses in the world, we have a large part to play.5

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Without a plan to combat this climate change, our environment, economy and culture
will be devastated. The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and our ski slopes will all be lost –
along with the jobs that depend on them. Then there are the extreme weather events:
droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves, and extreme precipitation. Australia will be
one of the countries hardest hit by climate change.6

But few people also realise the important role Australia plays in international climate
negotiations. Historically, weʼve used that influence to be a roadblock to action.

Hopefully, we can buck that trend at Copenhagen – Kevin Rudd, along with the UN
Secretary-General and Mexican President, has been appointed as the lead negotiator
to secure international agreement on the key points before the conference. The Danish
Prime Minister has named him as the ʻFriend of the Chairʼ.7

During the negotiations, we take on an even more important role. Countries form blocs
to negotiate – the EU; developing countries; small island states, etc. The countries not
in those categories have formed the ʻUmbrella Groupʼ, including us, the US, Russia,
Japan, Canada – and guess what? Australia is the permanent chair of the group.

How can I keep up with whatʼs going on?

Weʼre glad you asked! Weʼve set up a special site that our team in Copenhagen and
Australia will be keeping up to date with special videos and articles, and devising the
most effective actions for Australians to have their voices heard where it counts:

http://coptv.getup.org.au/

Want even more up to date information? Sign up to follow us on:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Getup
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GetUp/13527056454

And if youʼve read this far, we reckon youʼll want to sign up to receive more regular
Copenhagen updates by becoming a ʻClimate Copʼ at COP15:

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/Copenhagen&id=860

See you in Copenhagen!

1
The Guardian, 10/11/2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/10/copenhagen-climate-change-
summit
2
http://unfccc.int/2860.php ; Penny Wong, 21/9/2009,
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/minister/wong/2009/major-speeches/September/sp20090921.aspx
http://unfccc.int/press/fact_sheets/items/4976.php
3
United Nations Climate Chief, Yvo de Boer, http://en.cop15.dk/blogs/view+blog?blogid=992
4
Find out more here: http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/images/reports/copenhagenchecklist.pdf
5
ABC News, 11/9/2009, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/11/2683439.htm
6
CSIRO, Climate change impacts on Australia and benefits of early action to reduce global greenhouse gas
emissions, available at: http://www.csiro.au/resources/pfbg.html
7
Sydney Morning Herald, 28/10/2009 http://www.smh.com.au/national/copenhagen-role-puts-more-pressure-on-
pm-20091027-hj2t.html
www.getup.org.au