A short film that played during the opening of the Copenhagen climate conference earlier this week was called dramatic, touching, and frightening, I read. Who could resist the wide-eyed plea of a young girl, scared out of her sleep by nightmares of climate disaster, "Please help the world."
 
Did the film cause world leaders to sit up straighter in their conference hall chairs and think harder about their accountability for making tough choices, coming to agreement and taking action?  Or was the image forgotten as quickly as the lights came up and they headed off to their next press event?
 
I'm more concerned about real children in the real world -- those still brimming with idealism, those who believe in their ability to influence change in the world by casting their vote and raising their voice.  Their nightmare is unfolding in real time, through streaming video and news reports, as leaders gathered in Copenhagen debate away the opportunity to take meaningful action. 

Every day, it seems, new data is revealed about the growing skepticism -- and worse, apathy -- among consumers for the plight of the environment and the peril of climate change.  Who can blame a public taking their cues from leaders who continue to favor rhetoric over action and who treat this conference, a historic and important opportunity to create real impact, about as seriously as a sales junket?
 
The fact that Copenhagen is happening at all is a good thing. The fact that President Barack Obama has decided to make an appearance, in and around accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, is a good thing.  And I do have a sincere appreciation for the effort of getting this far -- the fact that 192 countries are in attendance and acknowledging that the problem is real, that in and of itself is a form of leadership and a notable form of progress.
 
But I can't help but wonder if I was held by my shareholders to the same degree of accountability that world leaders have exhibited thus far on the climate change issue, how much easier would my job be?  What if I could blame a poor quarter on Congress, or rationalize, "Yes, we realize we've got a big problem, and we had a really good meeting about it.  Want to see the pictures?" 

That kind of leadership would get me nothing but fired.
 
And yet leaders of the world, the ones we optimistically elect in hopes that they'll act for the common good and advocate for the changes we need -- the ones we hope will save the world -- are not held to the same measures of accountability or forced to suffer the same consequences as a bootmaker.  It's deeply and frustratingly ironic.  
 
I respect the challenge at hand: There is no roadmap or easy answer for how we solve global problems.  With every country holding tight to its own rules and regulations, expectations and interests, it's easy to say it's virtually impossible to come to any kind of common ground.  But as much as I appreciate the complexity of the problem, I also appreciate that this is precisely the sort of challenge elected officials promise to address during their campaigns.  This is the kind of action we vote for, either hopefully or despairingly, when we cast our ballots.
 
I want to believe that leaders gathered in Copenhagen will do their part and fulfill their duty and try -- really try -- to make meaningful progress out of this conference.  The worst nightmare, as I see it, wouldn't be the world coming to an end. It would be individuals standing idly by while it happens even as they have, in their hands, the ability to save it.

Jeff Swartz is CEO of Timberland.

Click here for full coverage of COP15 from the GreenBiz.com and ClimateBiz.com teams, including posts from Copenhagen by Executive Editor Joel Makower and Senior Contributor Marc Gunther, and from dozens of guest contributors from the business world.

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