Updated 23 May, 2012, 6:39 pm IST

Copenhagen Climate Conference 2009 - Will it Make a Difference

08 Dec, 2009, 3:42 pm IST | by Shayne Rana

The Copenhagen Climate Conference 2009 is currently underway to device means of curbing Global Warming.

We all know that the environment and good old mom nature is taking a serious beating at the hands of, well, us. Global warming and all other climactic changes we’re bringing about thanks to the level and variation of pollution are adversely affecting the planet. The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and its parties have met this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, to determine the best methods of curbing the dire situation we’re seemingly running towards.

A system called the Kyoto Protocol designed and adopted to help fight global warming was adopted on 11 December 1997 in Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of November 2009, a total of 187 states have signed and ratified the protocol. The protocol will expire in 2012. It seems like the current situation is still in need of streamlining even this far down the line hence the parties of the UNFCCC have gathered together what will be the last meeting on government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed.

The initiative is one on a global scale and is yet to trickle down to the rest of us. In the meantime while the discussions are underway what’s actually being done to help the planet? The numerous indigenous bodies and institutions are trying their every best to make this a better place to live but clearly the end result is totally dependant on us. And we, the small people, just don’t seem to give a damn.

I mean sure we worry about it, but more because it’s like a nagging toothache that we can simply take to the dentist and have him take care of it because we don’t have the tools or so called ‘expertise’ to do it ourselves. The closest thing we in India could come up with to help curb the climate issues is to have a debate on what our strategy would be and relying on a book to help us figure out what’s wrong from a national perspective. Is that really the best we can come up with?

I think it’s about time we stopped having meetings about things that are important to the planet's well being and get off our butts and do something. I’m sure the air condition in the building that’s being used for the summit is causing some amount of pollution.

No disrespect meant to the delegates at the conference and without the least bit of sarcasm, what they’re doing is vital and important to standards and methods adopted to look after the planet for the larger spectrum and the bigger picture, so it’s up to us to look at it from the lower end (so to speak) and make the small changes that usually lead to big things.

There are quite a� few devices and eco-friendly options one could use to keep the planet as safe as possible without having to give up on the technology they love. For a better idea on what's out there and what manufacturers have out there there click here. �

Stay clean!