Copenhagen global climate deal falls short of expectations

The outline of a weak global climate agreement was last night concluded in Copenhagen, but it fell far short of what Britain and many poor countries were seeking and leaves months of tough negotiations to come. Following eight draft texts and all day talks between 115 world leaders, it was left to President Obama and Wen Jiabao of China to finally broker a political agreement. The deal - known as the Copenhagen accord - "recognises" the scientific case for keeping temperature rises to no more than 2C but did not contain commitments to emissions reductions by countries to hit that goal. US officials spun the deal as a "meaningful agreement" but even President Obama admitted, "This progress is not enough," he said, "we have come a long way but we have much further to go". As expected earlier in the week it aims to provide $30 billion in funding for poor countries to adapt to climate change between 2010 And 2012, and $100 billion a year after 2020...read more