GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009
December 7 - 18, 2009
Copenhagen, Denmark
The United Nations Climate Change Conference was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December 7 and December 18, 2009. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) to the Kyoto Protocol.
London Meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate
October 18, 2009
London, United Kingdom
President Barack Obama announced the launch of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on March 28, 2009. The Forum is intended to facilitate a candid dialogue among major developed and developing economies, help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the December UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, and advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The 17 major economies participating in the Major Economies Forum are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Denmark, in its capacity as the President of the December 2009 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the United Nations have also been invited to participate in this dialogue.
- Special Envoy Todd Stern’s Remarks at the Fifth Meeting of the Leaders’ Representatives of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, U.S. Department of State, October 19, 2009
- Climate Change is One of the Defining Challenges of our Time, Remarks by President Obama on Major Economies Forum Declaration, White House, July 9, 2009
- Meeting the International Clean Energy and Climate Change Challenges, Fact Sheet, White House, July 9, 2009
2009 Summit on Climate Change
September 22, 2009
New York, New York
Nearly 100 world leaders accepted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s invitation to participate in an historic Summit on Climate Change in New York on September 22 to mobilize political will and strengthen momentum for a fair, effective, and ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen in December. The Summit marked the first UN visit for the Presidents of China and the United States as well as the newly elected Prime Minister of Japan.
Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005
The Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, which was signed into law by President Bush on December 1, 2005, makes the provision of safe water and sanitation services in developing countries a component of U.S. foreign assistance. It requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with USAID, to develop and implement a strategy to support this goal within the context of sound water resource management.
U.S. Global Change Research Program
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change." Global change is defined as the following: changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life.
Thirteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP, which was known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008. The program is steered by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, overseen by the Executive Office of the President, and facilitated by an Integration and Coordination Office.
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