Copenhagen: leaders pull small rabbit out of the hat at end of the day

I just obtained a copy of the final Copenhagen Accord, and it differs from the earlier version in two significant ways that cancel each other out.

The final text of the Copenhagen Accord does not include the provision for global emissions to be cut by 50 per cent by 1990. Nor does it include the disguised equity in per capita emissions.

It does enshrine for the first time in an international accord for the first time emissions commitments from developing countries including China, India, Mexico and Brazil. That is a huge first step. While the transparency measures are less than some would like, Obama did make the point that a lot can be verified via satellite monitoring. He called it a good first step and trust building measure on the road to a legally binding agreement.

I am off to a scrum with G-77 lead negotiator.

• Accepts 2 degrees Celsius as a critical threshold.

• Copenhagen Climate Fund: Quick-start $30 billion 2010-2012 for poor countries. $100 billion/year to poor countries by 2020 subject to transparency of mitigation actions.
• Enshrines principle (thank you Nick Stern) that "low emission development strategy is indispensable to sustainable development."

Comments

[Ryan]

Don't sign it Harper.

[Werner Strasser]

European media: "Copenhagen a failure, US president Obama fell off the Climate-Summit":

Obama sufferd another devastating defeat on the international stage in Copenhagen. His prinkmenshipp and inferiority was exposed as was the hoax of AGW. Obama might have thought he was dealing with underdeveloped nations, forgetting, it applied to their economy but not to their mental faculties. The Chinese, in particular Wen Jiabao, where not willing to go for Obama's trickery and stood him up. An anger-inflamed Obama had to storm the Chines Premier's conference room shouting: "Are you ready to talk with me now, Mr. Premier? Are you ready now? Mr. Premier, are you ready to to talk with me?" In short, Obama and all AWG fanatics continue to make fools of themselves.

Creating that “historical” Copenhagen Accord, a worthless pice of paper, can hardly be called a success but it does expose the elitists as ruthless sharlatans.