COP4—Buenos Aires Climate Conference

So, following the Kyoto Protocol, the next round of talks, (November 2 - November 13, 1998) were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

There are many issues that still need to be discussed, epecially on the trading of Carbon emissions and equity between the rich and developing nations. The politics and self interest that was at work at the Kyoto Conference was feared to manifest itself this time round. Even though the talks have now ended with some hailing it as a success, others criticize it for not having clear cut deadlines etc.

To start off, here are some major links to information and coverage on this conference:

• The COP-4 Home Page: http://www.cop4.org/home.html from the UNFCCC is a web site for the conference which would probably be the first port of call. Some interesting sections include the following:
  • An excellent beginners guide to the conference.
  • Real Audio live broadcasts and footage of the conference.
  • Note that there is a European mirror site to the COP-4 Home Page.
  
  
• CSE (The Centre for Science and Environment) maintain a great section that looks at the politics and general issues that may affect this conference.
  
  
• Friends of the Earth have a news update section for Climate Change issues that will summarize each day of this conference and may be of interest.
  
  
• OneWorld's Dispatch on Buenos Aires provides many links.