Posts

Showing posts from November 18, 2009

Forget about a climate change deal anytime soon

Business Times - 19 Nov 2009 Forget about a climate change deal anytime soon By LEON HADAR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT AS someone who has been following the political and legislative debate over climate change in the US Congress, I was a bit startled that so many pundits seemed so very surprised when President Barack Obama was forced to acknowledge in Singapore over the weekend that a comprehensive climate deal was beyond reach this year. Instead, he and other world leaders agreed that they would work towards a more 'modest' interim agreement with a promise to renew work towards a binding treaty next year. Good luck with that! And here is a bold prediction: There would probably be no support in Congress during the rest of Mr Obama's term for any binding accord to address global warming, making it very difficult to negotiate any global accord to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012. The election of a charismatic Democratic US President who pledged during his campaign