It is still unclear what the French electorate really wants or if François Hollande will become the statesman he convinced the majority of voters he could be.

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The enduring image from last week’s UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa, was of negotiators “huddling” in full view on the plenary floor to come up with the form of words that allowed the final deal to be reached. The negotiators are in shirtsleeves, visibly tied at the end of talks that [...]

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BRUSSELS — The mood on China in Western capitals is beginning to darken. From cyber-attacks to obstinacy in Copenhagen, Beijing’s assertiveness and the hardening tone of its diplomacy are prompting a rethink. If the competitive aspects of the relationship with China are going to dominate in the years ahead, have the United States and Europe [...]

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For a full write-up of the event, please click here.

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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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