rickremington's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

If the UN Climate Change Conference this December fails to produce a legally binding global climate deal, Norway and Sweden are pushing for a follow-up conference in early 2010 to finalize a new treaty.  While having a back-up plan seems like a good idea, especially considering the United States may unfortunately need more time, I’m reticent to shift focus from the significance of this December’s talks and I think we should continue to push for an agreement as soon as possible.

That said if the US is unable to solidify a domestic climate bill soon, despite encouragement from German Chancellor Merkel or clever maneuvers by Senator Boxer, we certainly cannot afford to wait until the following December for the next Conference of the Parties (COP16).  According to Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Climate Change:

There is only one more week and I think everyone knows, we will not end up with a completed international agreement. Yvo De Boer said it, and I think it’s good he did.

I suppose the wisest plan would be to push to accomplish as much as possible in Copenhagen, and if a concrete global climate plan cannot be fully established, than we should work to maintain the momentum and accomplish a treaty in the beginning of 2010.  Use the act link below to find out what you can do to help speed things along in Copenhagen.