1 June 2009
High-stakes climate poker
In six months' time, diplomats from 200 countries will meet in Copenhagen to try to agree a complex global agreement on climate-change abatement. It is a tall order, writes Conal Walsh
COPENHAGEN – intended to spawn a successor to the Kyoto Protocol – may be the last serious chance to put a brake on global warming. Diplomatic brinkmanship in the Danish capital is inevitable, but also fraught with risk. Green groups are pinning their hopes on Barack Obama, the new US president. In contrast to his predecessor, Obama has declared the US' intention to take the lead on reducing carbon emissions. But his efforts could yet be stymied by political opposition at home or by reluctance from China and India meaningfully to cut their own emissions while their economies are still developing. Pre-summit meetings have failed to produce much agreement, suggesting no accord will appear befo
Also in this section
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
23 December 2025
Legislative reform in Germany sets the stage for commercial carbon capture and transport at a national level, while the UK has already seen financial close on major CCS clusters
15 December 2025
Net zero is not the problem for the UK’s power system. The real issue is with an outdated market design in desperate need of modernisation
