Over the next few weeks, leading nations will be deciding the fate of the Copenhagen Accord, the three-page climate change agreement recognized at last month’s international summit but never [formally]  adopted.

If they embrace it, they’ll also be embracing a process that sidestepped one the highest procedural hurdles of the UN system, unanimous consent.

On Jan. 31, the first deadline of the Copenhagen Accord arrives. It isn’t mandatory — the accord was recognized by the Conference of Parties at last month’s summit but never adopted because six countries objected — however, Annex I countries that formally associate themselves with the accord agree to declare their 2020 emissions reduction targets by the Jan. 31 deadline.

Many groups and individuals are now saying that the UN is probably the wrong place to depend on to solve the climate change crisis with a world-wide agreement that will never happen.  Unanimous consent is not something that should be required for a climate change agreement; a majority agreement should be enough.  Too many countries were involved in COP15 with too many disparate agendas and arguments ensued that weren’t even about climate change.  Mostly, it was an economics summit — it became more about economic justice than climate change. Climate change is a crisis all its own. Do we fix it or does everything have to be determined right now on the basis of who pays what?  It’s more important to get started.   It’s frustrating to see every conference on climate change break down into squabbles about money.  There have to be better ways to think about how best to stop climate change and it’s obvious that better ideas are needed.

350.org is one of the best and most persistent organizations working to solve climate change by including everyone and every idea they can. They are responsible for setting the original target of 350 ppm (of CO2 in the atmosphere) as the upper target for what the climate can endure and support life as we know it, based on the recommendation of scientist Jim Hansen.  As you can see from the black icon on the  left, the climate is currently over 387 ppm so we need to get that number down or all life on earth is endangered.  CO2 is the main driver of global warming and climate change.  Bill McKibben is the leader of 350.org and it was his 350.org movement which got 350 as the CO2 target at Copenhagen’s recent climate summit, and as the target goal in the mind of the public.

So much of the public awareness of the dangers of CO2 can be credited to Bill McKibben.  Now after the lack of a binding treaty at the COP15 Copenhagen summit, McKibben is back with another plan:  gathering ideas from everyone possible to form a new way to combat climate change.  Essentially he agrees with me that the world needs to stop depending so much on the UN and regular chaotic meetings of nations to solve the problem.  He feels we  [...]