Gearing Up for the Copenhagen Climate Conference
Nicolas Loris /
Cap and trade is nowhere near dead but it’s not the only weapon in the arsenal against capping carbon dioxide emissions. Another significant threat to United States energy policy is the possible climate treaty that could supplant the Kyoto Protocol as the new treaty to combat global warming. Just as scary, if not more so, is how an international treaty could affect U.S. sovereignty.
In preparation for the December 7-18 summit, The Heritage Foundation will be covering all the details – up to, during, and after the conference. From energy, to free trade to sovereignty, we’ll address all the angles and provide background information, frequent updates and international perspectives.
Whether a treaty will be signed is very much in the air. On October 19 Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told the Financial Times: “A fully fledged new international treaty under the [U.N. framework] convention [on climate change] – I do not think that is going to happen. If you look at the limited amount of time that remains to Copenhagen, we have to focus on what can realistically be done and how that can realistically be framed.”