Copenhagen: after the circus

In an agreement forged overnight following fraught negotiations at the end of the Copenhagen climate conference, countries agreed to act to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius. But in the cold light of day, the text of the 'Copenhagen Accord' looked weaker than some scientists and politicians had, perhaps optimistically, expected, with no sign of any legally binding commitments to emissions cuts.

While US President Barack Obama fought hard to present the Accord as a first step towards harsher, more binding cuts in the future, climate campaigners declared world leaders had written a death sentence for Africa. So, as the furore surrounding the negotiations dies down, is this watered-down version of a climate change agreement a burning disappointment, or the best we could have hoped for under the circumstances?  More...

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2010/January/04011001.asp