I designed my diagram to show what causes climate change and how the WikiLeaks cables come into play. I began with showing what is said to cause climate change: greenhouse gas emissions by companies and countries in excess amounts. This excess amount is what leads to climate change. Today, the idea of climate change is widely accepted and it has caused countries to evaluate options to attempt to control and prevent climate change from happening. With the creation of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which meets yearly, countries from around the world have the opportunity to work together, share thoughts and ideas, and try to come up with viable solutions to climate change. At the 15th UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the United States seemed to have led negotiation efforts and with other countries came up with the Copenhagen Accord, which states that countries in support will pledge to take actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Because the original UN process did not target U.S. issues with their own emissions, the accord worked to align with U.S. interests and problems. Therefore, to the U.S. it was important that it was adopted. Currently there are 116 countries in support (with another 23 stating they will support). I show in my diagram a line from the U.S. to those countries because the U.S. used many questionable actions to get these countries to support them and the accord. This including bribing poorer countries with financial aid, making promises to countries regarding aid that are not guaranteed, hacking their infrastructure.

There is no doubt in my mind that climate change is real and that there must be something done about it. I also think that as americans living under the United States constitution we have the right to be able to know what is going on, and therefore I think it is perfectly acceptable for the state department cables to be made public. However, I’m not sure that in doing so it really means much and or matters in this case for the American people to know. I think that if the UN process which was originally put in place does not do enough to target U.S. issues (which by the way is one of the biggest contributors to global climate change), then I think the U.S. has to do what it needs to do. The U.S. likes to go around and tell people that they are the worlds police that act as if they do everything right, and therefore it it shocking to see them being on the corrupt end of things. At the end of the day it is for a good cause, and to be honest when is there not corruption in politics?. I’m not sure if I believe in what the Copenhagen accords stand for. It only outlines that countries will take steps, which leaves no guarantees that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced. I think that if the U.S. felt so strong and did all that they did to get countries to support it, they should have put strict guidelines that showed change will occur.