This document contains the text of remarks made by Shri Shyam Saran, Special Envoy of PM at the Valedictory Session of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on February 7, 2010.
The curtain came down on the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP-15) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen on 19 December 2009, almost a full day beyond its scheduled closure. The conference had been preceded and accompanied by worldwide hype and exaggerated expectations, fuelled by governments and civil society groups alike.
The author who has been in the forefront of negotiations for climate change has given a first hand account of the negotiations at Copenhagen and what needs to be done now. He vividly brings out the thought process and the stands taken by various countries also highlighting the outcome of the accord which was reached at Copenhagen at the very last moment.
The pervasive mistrust with which the Copenhagen Conference ended does not augur well for post-Copenhagen negotiations. This commentary explores existing fault lines and proposes creative ways of moving forward.
Climate change has become the defining issue of our time. It is a quintessential global matter, since its effects respect no national or regional boundaries. Climate change is also a challenge that compels a global and collaborative response. We are all literally in the same boat, cast adrift in increasingly tumultuous seas. Unless we pull the oars together we may not make it to shore.
