Who are the most important players in Copenhagen that will make or break the deal?
I think the deal is broken already. It’s broken because the framework is broken. It sets up a system which says the reductions targets are all about numbers which are made into tradable emissions units. It’s a way of translating the climate change problem into a language that neo-liberal economics understands. You cannot use the same tools that broke the system to fix it. The UN climate conference is something between a trade negotiation and a trade fair. It resembles a trade fair because there is an awful lot of corporate lobbying going on. Many business and industry non-governmental organisations (BINGOs), basically corporations, are there trying to ensure a deal that works in their interest. The other side of it is a trade negotiation, so it’s really a game of power politics. The main split is between the wealthy countries, so-called Annex I countries, and the Global South. The Annex I countries bear the main responsibility for tackling climate change as they have historically emitt
