INDUSTRY NEWS
BY BRIAN KROMER
Figure 1. An illustration of the monetary value of the carbon footprint of energy in the
United States, based on an average December price of carbon in the EU ETS carbon market in
terms of national reductions in the proposed American Clean Energy & Securities (ACES) Act.

Clarity to Copenhagen

An overview from the recent Conference of the Parties 15,
or COP 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark

In December 2009, leaders from over 191 countries gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, to conclude an agreement for the post-2012 Kyoto ambitions centered on international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The conference represented a preemptive continuation on an international scale of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which previously produced the Kyoto Protocol and is now beckoning a post-2012 agenda, when Kyoto will expire. Copenhagen’s efforts began in 2007 at the Bali, Indonesia, Conference of the Parties or “COP 13” meeting, where the origins of a post- 2012 agenda first beckoned, followed by “COP 14” in Poznan, Poland, in 2008.

For the United States, the Copenhagen conference concludes a rapid-paced year as it faced new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy and the historic introduction of the mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule. Both U.S. and international politics at the United Nations convey a sense of urgency for a post-2012 agenda even

Brian Kromer is managing director of Infleksion.

though the binding stage of Kyoto has not been completed. This urgency is based on the fact that some of the world’s “best and brightest” scientists believe we have a five- to seven-year window of opportunity to avert major climatic change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, science that supports the politics states that a 440 parts per million (ppm) atmospheric concentration of CO2 will limit the global rise in temperature to 2°C, averting major climatic change. Science further attributes reductions of 25 to 40% to be required by developed nations along with the support of developing countries to operate as a developed nation, responsible for binding and meaningful action to occur in the allotted window of opportunity. If the science is not correct, there is still a benefit from taking action because reducing emissions will drive new technologies, economic progress and provide for a cleaner environment — provided the cost of the action is not equally offsetting the economic gain.