Copenhagen Agreement Unlikely

While the next 24 hours are the most crucial, the over-all feeling at Copenhagen is that no agreement will be reached, not even an interim political agreement. Poor countries say the rich countries are to blame for destroying the planet and are not doing enough. They seek much more funding from rich nations, and rich nations, particularly the US, appear intent on limiting their contribution to as little as possible. The US has announced it is in agreement with being part of a 100 billion dollar fund to help poorer nations adapt to Climate Change. However the US (typically) did not say to what extent they would contribute, while at the same time attaching conditions to their involvement, namely that a firm agreement be reached this week (again, unlikely) and that China provide greater transparency surrounding their efforts. And so it goes…