Focus on COP15Deloitte perspectives and involvement |
COP 15—the 15th annual Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—will take place in Copenhagen from 7-18 December 2009. COP meetings bring together the countries that are party to the UNFCCC, and attract thousands of participants from industry and NGOs to a host of side events.
This year’s COP seeks to begin the process of establishing a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, adopted at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Recent public rhetoric on this conference has attempted to manage expectations around what can be accomplished—with debate mostly focused on reconciling individual countries’ quantitative emissions reduction targets. It is useful to remember, though, that a host of tools are at the negotiators’ disposal, above and beyond deploying a broader emissions cap and trade scheme, including: avoided deforestation measures, technology subsidies, and funding for energy efficiency. Even without a binding legal agreement on all issues of controversy, companies may feel significant impacts in the wake of the Copenhagen talks. And the clear intent of the responsible parties is to continue the negotiation process, doubtless into 2010, until a politically binding accord is agreed.
Deloitte practitioners from a half-dozen member firms will attend COP15, and will speak at a number of side events. Deloitte Denmark is sponsoring an event on 15 December called “Tour the Globe”, which will highlight international perspectives on climate change solutions from young leaders.
To learn more, explore the reports on this page and be sure to subscribe to the COP15 RSS feed to get updates from Copenhagen.
Featured content
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COP15 background and perspectives Find out more about the goals of the COP15 conference, the impact on your business, and Deloitte’s involvement. |
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Cap and trade programs for greenhouse gas Governments are considering a wide range of policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), including cap and trade programs designed to bring economic efficiency to emissions reductions. This paper outlines key characteristics of cap and trade programs. |
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Design implications of linking emissions trading schemes and the impact on business Learn about ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while getting ahead of the cost curve. |
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Copenhagen: Political realities to the fore A host of recent events may leave business leaders wondering what to expect from the current round of climate negotiations. This report examines possible outcomes. |