As the world’s environment ministers, government officials, diplomats and campaigners prepare to attend the COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 to unite in the battle against climate change in one of the most complicated political deals the world has ever seen, the increasingly complex territory of climate negotiations is being revealed in an article published today, 5 August, 2009, in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters.
The paper ‘Tripping Points: Barriers and Bargaining Chips on the Road to Copenhagen’ lays bare the main tripping points – political barriers and bargaining chips – which need to be overcome for countries to reach a consensus on how to address global climate change.
One of the key issues delegates will …

As World Environmental leaders met in Copenhagen, the emphasis was on green technology, carbon emissions and jobs. Organizers of the world business summit on climate change outlined aggressive policies that projected 2 million green jobs in the U.S. and another one million jobs throughout Europe.
The focus of the summit is on establishing guiding principles that will be used to guide politicians in the development of a new global climate treaty that will succeed the current Kyoto Treaty, which expires in 2012. The Copenhagen Climate Council reported that many of the jobs would be created as economies commit to wind energy and other renewable sources for electricity.
European Union Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, explained that, “A …