Not that it's a great surprise, but still. Leading up to the Copenhagen meetings there had been considerable worry about the lack of progress and lack of seriousness. Obama's initial plans were to arrive early at the meetings as he skated through to collect his Nobel prize. Fortunately, he did change his plans and came later when other world leaders were there though apparently they weren't impressed. It could have been because many had been onsite for days, but there is surely much more behind that story.
So what next? If Obama was serious about moving this subject, it would be nice to see him truly be proactive instead of waiting for other countries to take the lead. Bringing China and India into the fold is not going to be easy but again, this is a matter of leadership. The US, India and China are the largest obstacles to real change so it only makes sense to see someone in that group to lead. If the US does lead - certainly a big "if" - will Europe and the developing world follow? If there's a sense from others that Obama is not serious, it could be an even more difficult process.
Outside of the Obama administration, is there honestly anyone who believes this is a "meaningful agreement" on climate change?
After eight draft texts and all-day talks between 115 world leaders, it was left to Barack Obama and Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, to broker a political agreement. The so-called Copenhagen accord "recognises" the scientific case for keeping temperature rises to no more than 2C but did not contain commitments to emissions reductions to achieve that goal.
American officials spun the deal as a "meaningful agreement", but even Obama said: "This progress is not enough."
"We have come a long way, but we have much further to go," he added.
The deal was brokered between China, South Africa, India, Brazil and the US, but late last night it was still unclear whether it would be adopted by all 192 countries in the full plenary session.
