COPENHAGEN FIASCO - AT 11:13 A.M. ET:  Things continue downhill in Copenhagen, which has been hit by a major snowstorm in the midst of the huge climate-change conference.  An "agreement," announced just hours ago, is unraveling.  From The New York Times:

COPENHAGEN — With the swift bang of a gavel on Saturday morning, a prolonged fight between nations small and large over an international pact to limit climate risks that was forged the night before by the United States and four partners came to a somewhat murky end.

To put it mildly.

The chairman of the climate treaty talks declared that the parties would “take note” of the document, named the Copenhagen Accord, leaving open the question of whether this effort to curb greenhouse gases from the world’s major emitters would gain the full support of the 193 countries bound by the original, and largely failed, 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change.

COMMENT:  We just get the feeling that we're back in a 1930s style of diplomacy.  Nothing actually gets done, but everyone works to be sure there's an appearance of progress. 

The failure of the conference is, as we've noted, probably good news.  It gives time for the thoughtful skeptics to build their forces. 

No rational person is opposed to making the air cleaner and developing more modern, cleaner energy sources.  And no rational American is opposed to making us less dependent on foreign oil.  But the behavior of many delegates in Copenhagen, especially from "developing" (read corrupt) countries, makes it obvious that the real agenda wasn't climate change, but extortion - getting advanced countries to fork over hundreds of billions of dollars, without much accountability, on an extended guilt trip.

President Obama's appearance at the conference was a disaster.  Maybe it will be an important event in his political education.  Once again he's learned that his rhetoric, effective in an election campaign, is far less effective when actually governing.  Foreign nations fawned over Obama when he ran, and now they want payback for making him temporary king of the world.  He hasn't got the goods to give, and his own nation, increasingly, is not behind him.

December 19, 2009