The time is now! The Copenhagen Climate Conference, probably the biggest, most important global conference on climate, is happening Dec 7-18, 2009. That is three months from now. It is a United Nations conference committed to creating an agreement as a planet on how to take dramatic action to reduce global warming. There are 3 challenges to address with this plan: the targets and specific actions to take to reach those targets, financing, and building a global carbon market that is effective. The negotiators have been meeting throughout the year and will have only a few more days of actual negotiation to finalize the proposal.

The role of the United States is critical. How strong is going to be our stance? What actions can the US government take now to show how serious we are? There is currently a bill in Congress (Clean Energy Climate Bill) focused on clean coal burning. Some believe that if we pass this bill, we will appear weak as a nation on global warming. If we make a stand and say it’s not enough, then we can appear strong on a global level at the conference.

Indonesia, the 2nd largest Southeast Asian country, has made a significant commitment to go green. They are promising, with the condition of financial support, they will cut 40% of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The biggest cause of their emissions is not burning fossil fuels, but deforestation and degradation of peatland. This is an ambitious promise on any account, especially coming from a developing company. One of the issues of the Climate Conference is to allocate funding of such efforts in developing countries.

What can we do as individuals that can impact this bill and the global conference? There is a Global Climate Week from September 21-25th, and everyone can do their part to take action. Please go to Seal The Deal or COP15 for more information on how you can participate.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading up the efforts for individuals around the world to call upon their leaders to create an agreement that is “ fair, balanced, and effective.” Ban recently stated, "Time is running out. Scientists warn that climate impacts are accelerating. Now more than ever, we need political leadership at the highest level to ensure we protect people and the planet, and to catalyze the green growth that can power the 21st century economy.”