As we get closer to the Copenhagen conference in December 2009, the chances of a global treaty are fading. The probability of a Kyoto-style treaty with legally binding emissions targets is close to zero as the gap between the political stance of the developed and the developing nations has been growing ever wider.
Faced with growing popular resentment and opposition by key industry bodies, the EU has basically relinquished its unilateral Kyoto-policy over the last couple of years. Instead, the EU has now fully embraced George W Bush’s stance, in another irony of Editorial v history, demanding that developing countries such as India and China take on legally binding emissions reduction targets.
