When I played my role in the policy exercise, I felt that climate change is an issue that cannot be fixed by a single country. I felt that alone as the country of India there was only so much that we could do to have a real impact. It was not an easy thing to get everyone to work together and decide on a good course of action, but luckily for us we were not a major contributor and did not need to have as drastic of changes. The discussions definitely changed as the negotiations proceeded. For example, at first the issue of deforestation and afforestation was a major focus point until everyone realized that peak year and rate of decline had a much larger impact. Also, many countries were unwilling to provide much money to the world fund initially, but as everyone talked more, they were willing to give more so the countries who needed the money could successfully implement ideas. By the last round, everyone was much more agreeable and on the same page in realizing each country had to do their part to get down to two degrees by 2100. Our group didn’t need to have any major changes as negotiations went on since we had reasonable requests and levels, but we did move up our peak year as well as have a higher rate of decline in emissions. Most of this change was because we saw that the trees and forests did not have as large of an impact on temperature as we initially thought, so we wanted to make sure to do the most we could to help out. I think it will be exceptionally difficult to completely cut emissions, but it is possible. If countries devote time and resources and are willing to work together, then emissions can be cut to minimize the effects of climate change. The major barriers in developed countries was the fact that they have used fossil fuels for so long that change becomes difficult as well as the public opinion not being focused on climate change but rather the economy and other issues. In developing countries the main cost was building up technologies with alternative energy so that as they develop they do it in a clean way that will not cause massive emissions. Change in the US really needs to start with the people. The citizens in the United States need to realize that climate change is having a real impact on the world, and if something isn’t done then the world will be negatively changed in the near future. If everyone comes together to really ask for change, the government will need to listen and then we can start to turn to alternative sources of energy, and money can be put into projects for reducing emissions.
