Climate change

摘要

"Please, in the name of all the world, not just Russia, you must sign this. It is our only hope." Nadezhda Ledenaya, Politburo member, environment minister and the USSR's chief negotiator was close to tears as she realized the 2006 Reykjavik Protocol was dead in the water. Outside, the birds sang in the warm April sunshine, drowned out by the chants of the eco-warriors and the cackle of reporters on their cellphones. The third meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had always promised to be a brutal affair. There were the usual suspects on the fringes, the non-governmental organizations and green advocates arguing that the Protocol did not go far enough. At the centre of things were the major governments, which seemed to be on the verge of agreement until that fatal, last-minute deal, cooked up over a secret power-breakfast at the Borg.