Stick to the Basics!! Stick to the Basics!! Stick to the Basics!!All my life till date, I have been continually reminded of this fundamental sutra. However, I had always cursed myself for digressing from the same until the day of December 7th.
On the day of December 7th, to much of my own delight; I saw the world leaders making the same mistake at Copenhagen, Denmark. There were three basic facts missed by the United Nations that led to the rout which we have all witnessed.
Firstly, the summit was a conglomeration of 193 independent nations. That is to say, 193 different cultures, opinions, approaches to the issue and of course 193 different sets of personal problems to be considered before signing any agreement. Even a lay man passing by would accept that it is nearly impossible to strike a conclusive deal in a conference with a diversity of this magnitude. In a setting of 193 parties, the list of things which can go wrong is endless. How did they miss it?
Secondly, it was an ambitious conference lacking necessary homework. The conference aimed at confining emissions of the world through a legally binding accord. However, there are many speculations regarding the climate change predictions. Many countries including Russia which is 1/9th of the worlds land mass, believe that the predictions are mere exaggerations. A few also believe that the developed countries are eying at the commercial deals which would arise through technology transfer agreements after obliging the world to a legally binding accord. Every nation seems to be having a different self interest and a different estimate of this issue. With such a disparity in the approach towards the basic theme of the conference, a legally binding conclusion was close to impossible. The UN aimed to make COP15 "the turning point of the world", although necessary prior efforts to bring the world to a same tempo and estimate of the issue were not made . How did they miss it?
Thirdly, deification of Mr. Barrack Obama. Through his fantabulous oratory skills and ideals, he has successfully created an impression being the elixir of the world. But, before being anything else, he is the president of United States of America. Irrespective of his ideals and speeches, he can not do anything without the consent of his own people. And, a recent survey has indicated that the citizens of America were least concerned about the issue of climate change. It was also revealed that Americans looked at the summit as a plot set by the world to milk America of its treasure in the guise of climate change fund. How did they miss it?
Firstly, the summit was a conglomeration of 193 independent nations. That is to say, 193 different cultures, opinions, approaches to the issue and of course 193 different sets of personal problems to be considered before signing any agreement. Even a lay man passing by would accept that it is nearly impossible to strike a conclusive deal in a conference with a diversity of this magnitude. In a setting of 193 parties, the list of things which can go wrong is endless. How did they miss it?
Secondly, it was an ambitious conference lacking necessary homework. The conference aimed at confining emissions of the world through a legally binding accord. However, there are many speculations regarding the climate change predictions. Many countries including Russia which is 1/9th of the worlds land mass, believe that the predictions are mere exaggerations. A few also believe that the developed countries are eying at the commercial deals which would arise through technology transfer agreements after obliging the world to a legally binding accord. Every nation seems to be having a different self interest and a different estimate of this issue. With such a disparity in the approach towards the basic theme of the conference, a legally binding conclusion was close to impossible. The UN aimed to make COP15 "the turning point of the world", although necessary prior efforts to bring the world to a same tempo and estimate of the issue were not made . How did they miss it?
Thirdly, deification of Mr. Barrack Obama. Through his fantabulous oratory skills and ideals, he has successfully created an impression being the elixir of the world. But, before being anything else, he is the president of United States of America. Irrespective of his ideals and speeches, he can not do anything without the consent of his own people. And, a recent survey has indicated that the citizens of America were least concerned about the issue of climate change. It was also revealed that Americans looked at the summit as a plot set by the world to milk America of its treasure in the guise of climate change fund. How did they miss it?
