Copenhagen Summit

Copenhagen Summit
Name	Copenhagen Summit
Date	December 7–18, 2009
Location	Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Also known as	Conference of the Parties 15, COP15
Organized by	United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Participants	Heads of state, ministers, negotiators, NGOs, scientists, business leaders
Outcome	Copenhagen Accord (non-legally binding); political commitments; finance pledges

Copenhagen Summit

The Copenhagen Summit took place in December 2009 at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, convening representatives from states, intergovernmental organizations, scientific bodies, and civil society for a major session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The summit, officially the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15), brought together delegations from United States, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, European Union, Japan, Russia, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Switzerland, South Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Chile, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Venezuela, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Israel, Iceland, and many other states, along with representatives from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, G77, and Alliance of Small Island States.

Background

The Copenhagen Summit followed prior milestones including the Kyoto Protocol and negotiations at Bali Conference and Poznań Conference on Climate Change; it occurred amid intensified scientific findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and high-profile campaigns by Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, Hu Jintao, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Kevin Rudd. Political pressure from blocs such as the European Union and coalitions like the Umbrella Group and Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) group shaped preparatory talks. The summit was framed by media coverage from outlets including BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera, and by demonstrations organized by networks including 350.org and Friends of the Earth.

Objectives and Theme

The declared objectives included negotiating a successor instrument to the Kyoto Protocol, securing quantified emission reduction commitments from industrialized parties such as United States and European Union, obtaining mitigation pledges from major emerging emitters such as China and India, establishing a finance package for adaptation and mitigation for vulnerable states including Bangladesh and Maldives, and setting a roadmap toward a legally binding agreement to be concluded at a subsequent conference. The summit’s theme emphasized links among emissions pathways endorsed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, finance mechanisms discussed by World Bank and Green Climate Fund advocates, technology transfer frameworks advanced by United Nations Development Programme, and mechanisms for transparency and reporting championed by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development observers.

Participants and Attendance

Delegations included heads of state from United States (Barack Obama), China (Hu Jintao), United Kingdom (Gordon Brown), France (Nicolas Sarkozy), Germany (Angela Merkel), Brazil (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), India (Manmohan Singh), South Africa (Jacob Zuma), and representatives from Small Island Developing States and least developed countries led by figures from Tuvalu, Maldives, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Grenada. Observers encompassed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, International Energy Agency, Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, 350.org, Sierra Club, Oxfam International, CARE International, and business delegations from multinational firms and think tanks such as World Resources Institute, Pew Charitable Trusts, and Chatham House.

Key Agreements and Outcomes

The summit produced the non-legally binding Copenhagen Accord, a political document negotiated principally by leaders of United States, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (the BASIC countries), and brokered with active roles by United Kingdom and Denmark. The Accord recognized the goal of limiting global temperature rise to "below 2 °C", called for voluntary mitigation pledges from industrialized and developing countries, and established a framework for fast-track financing including a pledge of $30 billion for 2010–2012 and a long-term goal of mobilizing $100 billion annually by 2020 for adaptation and mitigation in vulnerable states such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The Copenhagen meeting initiated mechanisms for measurement, reporting, and verification endorsed by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development members and proposed the creation of a fund architecture later pursued under frameworks of Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.

Controversies and Criticism

Criticism centered on the Accord’s non-binding status and the exclusionary drafting process that culminated in a "group of 26" endorsement rather than a plenary consensus, provoking objections from states including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Sudan, Bolivia, and representatives of the Alliance of Small Island States. Negotiators and civil society criticized leaks such as the Danish text controversy and alleged lack of transparency from hosts Denmark and presiding officials. Environmentalists and scientists, including members of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, argued the pledges were insufficient to meet the 2 °C threshold, while policy analysts from World Bank and International Energy Agency warned of gaps in finance, technology transfer, and compliance. Media outlets such as The New York Times and The Guardian debated the diplomatic choreography involving Barack Obama, Hu Jintao, and Gordon Brown.

Legacy and Impact on Climate Policy

The Copenhagen Summit reshaped international climate diplomacy by catalyzing subsequent negotiations at COP16 in Cancún and the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement adopted at COP21; it influenced the establishment of the Green Climate Fund and intensified scrutiny of Measurement, Reporting and Verification systems. The political dynamics among major emitters—United States, China, India, Brazil, Russia—and the mobilization of civil society organizations like 350.org impacted domestic policy agendas, accelerating renewable energy investments promoted by multinationals and institutions including International Renewable Energy Agency and World Bank. Although criticized for failing to produce a legally binding treaty, the Copenhagen Summit prompted new architecture for climate finance, enhanced negotiation practices among coalitions such as European Union and G77, and left a legacy visible in national commitments under Nationally Determined Contributions during the era of the Paris Agreement.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences