What is the state of play for Copenhagen now?
Copenhagen is now viewed as the stage on which the rich nations, the rapidly emerging economies, and poor countries will commit to specific action on dealing with climate change – but will leave negotiators to iron out the legal details of a treaty later. “It is like a two-stage approach. We will get the substance in Copenhagen,” said Janos Pasztor, climate change adviser to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. “Then within [some] months, the international community will agree on a legally binding treaty.” But whether that scenario will play out depends alomost entirely on the US – as the world’s largest historic polluter – announcing it will cut its own greenhouse gas emissions. With Copenhagen now just three weeks away, such a dramatic move remains very uncertain. What is the challenge for Barack Obama? Obama has said he wants to act on climate change, but the real authority to make the sweeping changes to America’s economy rests with Congress. In June, the House of Representatives
