BELGRADE — After nearly 18 years, the citizens of Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro are free to travel to European Union Schengen area countries without visas. A decision by the Council of Ministers of the European Union on November 30 opened the borders on December 19. This long-awaited decision was met with exuberance and some disbelief [...]

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COPENHAGEN — After two weeks of intense and chaotic negotiations, more than two dozen countries, including those most responsible for current and future warming, promised to reduce their emissions and finance green growth and efforts to cope with climate change in developing countries. President Obama ended the deadlock that had plagued the talks by brokering [...]

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COPENHAGEN — It will be discussed for some time whether the “Copenhagen Accord” represents an unsatisfactory compromise or an unmitigated failure. Whatever the ultimate answer, there are some preliminary lessons that can be drawn from a memorably chaotic global gathering. The full text can be found with the Financial Times.

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COPENHAGEN — The days in Copenhagen are short at this time of year, but the working days at the UN climate change conference seemed endless. Brinksmanship and late-night drafting sessions are nothing new to climate-change negotiations: in Indonesia, in 2007, ministers stayed up until the late morning to wrap up the Bali Action Plan and [...]

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COPENHAGEN —  The daily presentation of the €˜Fossil of the Day’ awards has become as integral a part of the UN climate talks as the all-night negotiating sessions, colorful protests, and eleventh hour deliberation among parties to try and reach an agreement. This ten year old tradition organized by the Climate Action Network (CAN), an [...]

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COPENHAGEN — As hope dims for a major global climate deal in Copenhagen, participants still could make enough progress to lay a real foundation for a future treaty. But even that will take significant cooperation, particularly between the transatlantic partners.   With only two days left in the negotiations and tensions running high as the [...]

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COPENHAGEN — There was much stomping of feet in the snowy cold outside the Bella Convention Center here in Copenhagen, home to the UN climate change negotiations. Thousands of participants–negotiators, the media and observers from NGOs and business–waited for up to eight hours to try to gain access to the conference center. Many were turned [...]

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COPENHAGEN — When it comes to climate change and how to combat it, one of the fundamental questions asked by critics and supporters alike is: Who will pay? It is also one of the toughest issues being negotiated right now in snowy Copenhagen. Developing countries demand financial and technology transfers from the rich nations. The [...]

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COPENHAGEN — The Africa group walked out of the negotiations today to protest perceived efforts by developed countries to kill the Kyoto Protocol. The talks resumed several hours later.   While much of this is the typical drama that plays out at these meetings, Africa and other developing countries are legitimately reluctant to give up [...]

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COPENHAGEN — Today was the first day of the ministerial segment of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Outside, 15,000 people were standing in line for hours to get access into the Bella Conference Center, home of the climate negotiations. Meanwhile, things were heating up inside. This morning, the African delegations led the G77 plus China, [...]

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