Energy, markets and human behaviour: what have they got in common? According to economists such are Thomas Friedman, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, there is something that the financial crisis and the environmental crisis have in common: they both are global crisis and they both can be interpreted using the frame of human behaviour. In other words, we can consider the excess of consumption of the western world and its bulimia of resources and finance among the causes of both the financial and environmental crisis. Domenico Siniscalco, Vice-President at Morgan Stanley, says in his speech at 2009 International Energy Workhop in Venice
The “climate deadlock” prevented to sign a real substitute for the Kyoto Protocol. But two important novelties nonetheless emerged from Copenhagen. First, an informal, although politically relevant, declaration of national emissions reduction targets for 2020. Secondly, the definition of the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund.
How much good are these news? Announced mitigation targets are far from being adequate to control climate change, however there are chances to put the world on the right trajectory to reduce global warming significantly. The analysis of two economists explains why
Cop15 came to its end without a legally-binding treaty and the public opinion is looking back at Copenhagen as the place where UN missed a big opportunity.
We can say that Cop15 was a complete failure; or we can look at Copenhagen as a step ahead toward the next climate treaty. In any case climate change is still there and it still is a big issue the world has to deal with. Answers by experts to one single question