Copenhagen Begins This Week

Jillian Bandes | December 07, 2009 9:46 AM

There are 190 nations attending, but the only three that matter -- China, India, and the U.S. -- have already made up their minds. China and the U.S. have agreed

to emissions cuts, but neither has agreed to a binding agreement. That means they can't be held responsible if they fail to meet their emissions reduction goals. And India said they're not going to do diddly squat with climate change; it's simply not a national priority.

In the U.S. and China, failing to meet emissions reductions is not only economically beneficial to both nations, but more in line with public opinion as well. Earlier this year, Americans put the environment near last in a lengthy list of priorities they wanted President Obama to tackle during his first term in office. Over 35% of Americans don't view global warming as any kind of threat at all.

Meanwhile, none of the climate change scientists who promote global warming theory have paid two minutes' worth of attention the Climategate scandal. They're simply ignoring it. If Copenhagen is to accomplish anything, it would do well to at least acknowledge these skeptics, address them, and engage in debate instead of operating on the assumption that global warming is settled science. Copenhagen attendees would also do well to acknowledge the economic climate which, to everyone but themselves, is of much greater importance.