Introduction

In December of 2009, 114 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the ‘Climate Convention’) agreed to the Copenhagen Accord1. Among the important provisions of the accord was the call to parties to submit voluntary emission reduction pledges for the year 2020. To date, 42 developed countries have responded to this call and submitted economy-wide greenhouse gas emission reduction pledges, 16 developing countries have submitted multi-sector expected emission reductions, and in addition 39 other developing countries have submitted pledges related to sectoral goals2. Another important provision was the setting of a target to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2°C relative to preindustrial levels. In the wake of these two provisions, some very critical questions arose:

Sustainable Development Goals:

Good Health and Well-Being

Climate Action

Sustainable Cities and Communities