2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference

2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Name	2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Other names	Conference of the Parties 15
Date	7–18 December 2009
Location	Copenhagen, Denmark
Attendees	Heads of state, ministers, negotiators, observers

2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference was the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Copenhagen from 7–18 December 2009. The meeting assembled representatives from United States, China, India, Brazil, European Union, Russia, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and other Parties, along with delegates from non‑governmental organizations such as Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, and Oxfam. It aimed to produce a successor framework to the Kyoto Protocol and to set post‑2012 mitigation, finance, and adaptation arrangements involving institutions like the World Bank and mechanisms associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Background and objectives

Delegates convened following scientific syntheses by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and after outcomes of ministerial meetings including the G8 summit and regional forums such as the European Council. The objective was to agree on legally binding or political commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to operationalize finance pledges for adaptation and mitigation under mechanisms referenced in the Kyoto Protocol and in negotiations under the UNFCCC's COP process. Expectations were shaped by prior agreements like the Marrakesh Accords, by policy proposals from the United Nations Secretary‑General, and by national submissions under the Bali Road Map and the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund proposals.

Negotiations and key issues

Negotiations centered on mitigation targets from Parties such as the United States Department of State proposals, emissions trajectories from China National Development and Reform Commission submissions, and mitigation pledges from India and Brazil. Key issues included the legal form of any agreement—binding treaty versus political accord—finance commitments for adaptation from developed Parties like United Kingdom and France, mechanisms for technology transfer involving institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, and measurement, reporting and verification arrangements discussed by negotiators from Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa. Disputes emerged over baselines related to historical emissions raised by Canada and Australia, over per‑capita considerations cited by South Africa and Small Island Developing States, and over carbon markets referenced by European Commission officials and by representatives of the Clean Development Mechanism.

Copenhagen Accord and outcomes

The meeting concluded with political text known as the Copenhagen Accord, drafted in consultations involving leaders from United States President Barack Obama, China General Secretary Hu Jintao, India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and South Africa President Jacob Zuma. The Accord recognized the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and included quantified economy‑wide mitigation pledges from Parties including European Union, Japan, and Canada, along with finance pledges to a fast‑start finance package overseen by entities such as the World Bank and proposed a goal to limit warming to 2 °C discussed in policy debates in Berlin and Paris. However, the Accord was not adopted by consensus at the formal Conference of the Parties plenary; it was "noted" in an Annex to the COP decision, leading to divergent legal interpretations among Parties such as Norway, Switzerland, and New Zealand.

Participant responses and protests

At the venue and in public squares including near Christiansborg Palace and in demonstrations in Copenhagen Central Station, civil society actors from Friends of the Earth, indigenous delegations such as representatives aligned with Survival International, youth groups including Youth Climate Movement, and labor organizations staged protests and direct actions. Responses from national leaders ranged from endorsement by delegations in Berlin and Brussels to criticism by legislators in Washington, D.C. and commentators in The Guardian and The New York Times. Observers from multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development issued analytical statements, while some developing country coalitions including the Alliance of Small Island States and the Least Developed Countries Group decried the Accord's non‑binding status.

Scientific, economic, and policy impacts

Scientific communities referencing work by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change interpreted the outcomes as inadequate relative to stabilization pathways modeled by researchers at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stockholm Environment Institute. Economists from London School of Economics, Harvard University, and Stanford University analyzed anticipated carbon pricing signals and implications for mechanisms such as emissions trading schemes in the European Union Emissions Trading System. Policy impacts included acceleration of national policies in jurisdictions such as California and New Zealand, revisions of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions in several Asian Development Bank member states, and initiation of bilateral programs between Norway and Indonesia on REDD+ financing discussed in negotiations under REDD frameworks.

Legacy and subsequent developments

The Copenhagen meeting influenced subsequent diplomatic processes at Cancún (COP16), Durban (COP17), and the negotiations culminating in the Paris Agreement (COP21), shaping approaches to Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and to institutional arrangements for the Green Climate Fund. Legal scholars and policy analysts in institutions such as Columbia University and University of Oxford debated implications for treaty‑making authority and for differentiated responsibilities under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Accord's political dynamics informed later multilateral strategies by actors including European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon, and it remains a reference point in assessments by non‑governmental organizations such as Climate Action Network and World Resources Institute.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences