What is expected from Poznan?
The conference in Poznan serves as an important step on the path to agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. As agreed in the Bali Action Plan at the conference in sunnier Bali last year (at COP 13), participating nations hope to agree a comprehensive post-2012 agreement for dealing with climate change at the December 2009 conference in Copenhagen. The December 2009 target is a very ambitious one, especially given the challenges of the recent and ongoing global financial crisis. Other key hurdles include the logistical and political difficulties that the incoming Obama administration in the US faces in working to this timeline, and the continuing debate over how to successfully engage the developing world in any post-2012 agreement. Nevertheless, December 2009 remains the target, and we therefore need to see material progress in Poznan towards this goal. Nobody familiar with the climate change debate is expecting miracles in Poznan, but many participants hope for at least a clearer und
