Climate change has caused us to consider our influence on the environment. Most of the world has become dependent on fossil fuels to maintain our way of life. However, we have data to show that the way our world operates now is unsustainable and if we do not make some drastic changes then the human race may not be able to survive global warming. Therefore, the United States proposed the Copenhagen Accord which favors developed countries more so than the Kyoto Protocol. However, developing countries did not like this plan because they are trying to improve their industries and cutting emissions would halt this process. Therefore, the United States offered $30bn in exchange for the agreement to the plan. This caused many countries to follow through. However, certain negotiations were leaked and some classified it as “bullying” or forcing developing countries to enter an agreement that would not favor them. This resulted in a lack of trust with the United States.
I personally believe that it was right for the cables to be leaked. It shows how negotiations are dealt with between countries. However, to say that the way the United States handled it was wrong is difficult to say because it’s hard to determine the best way to handle a collective action problem. Not every country is going to be on board unless it is benefitting them in some way. Although mitigating climate change is beneficial for all involved it is still not enough for some countries. They need something more immediate in return. Therefore, maybe $30bn in exchange for less carbon emissions is not such a bad thing. In the end climate change is an issue that needs to be the priority of conversations and meetings because if it isn’t then all other conversations would not matter because we might not survive in the long run. Sometimes when people are not listening you have to force them to listen especially when it is something as important as this. I do believe there is a limit to “forcing” someone to listen, for example, physical harm or contracts that intentionally hurt the wellbeing of the people.
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Hi Adriana, my name is Julie, and I am an Education Major! Here is a link to my post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/06/module-9-climate-change-julie-cardillo/
I talked about how the United States’ actions caused there to be a lack of trust too. I also agreed that the cables should have been leaked because we have a right to know. I talked about, in my post, how the US should have handled this differently, by (for example) making fair and equal negotiations. It is true that not every country will not want to do something, that is why it is important to show them the benefits. In the case, climate mitigation would allow for a more sustainable environment.