We Need Major Progress in Poznan, Not Just Copenhagen

Right now the governments of the world are working on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol and it is expected to be finalized December of 2009 at the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. As a result, a lot of emphasis has been placed on Copenhagen, despite multiple UN climate meetings taking place prior to it. One such meeting is taking place this coming December in Poznan, Poland.

We need progress now, we can’t put everything off until Copenhagen. Creating a strong international agreement on climate change is going to be a long and difficult process, one we need to make progress on early and often.

The United Nations Secretary-General agrees! Ban Ki-moon said this past Sunday, “I would emphasize the need to make the most of the upcoming opportunity in Poznan,” and that “we must fight the urge to postpone everything until Copenhagen.”

Commenting specifically on the past position of the United States, Ban told Journalists that “whoever may be elected as president of the United States, they may be in a better position to address and to lead this process.”

During the Bush Administration, the position of the United States at international climate negotiations was incredibly disruptive. Hopefully that will change in Poland. But it will be of the utmost importance that the president elect be in Poland to bring a new message of U.S. engagement and diplomacy to the process.

A full article published by the Associated Press on Ban’s statement can be found here.

About Matthew

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Matt Maiorana is currently in his third year at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. Here he is working towards his B.A. in Human Ecology with an informal focus on International Relations. Matt is currently organizing local, state, national, and international climate campaigns with SustainUS, the Sierra Student Coalition, and Energy Action.