One baulks slightly at the dire Connie Hedegaard, EU commissioner on climate change, being called a "climate chief", although that rather puts her in the same league as Rajendra Pachauri – and that hasn't done him a great deal of good.Anyhow, said "chief", according to the Financial Times and sundry others, is playing down the prospects of it brokering a new, all embracing climate treaty at the global conference this December in Mexico. Given the general incompetence of the EU in everything it touches, it is comforting to see this institution recognising its own limitations, although the obduracy of India and China might have something to do with the pessimism.
Hedegaard is being remarkably candid on this issue – not that she has much choice. "To get every detail set in the next nine months looks very difficult," she said. "Europe would love that to happen, and I would love that to happen . ... but my feeling is that it is going to be very difficult to get a treaty."
Her pessimism is shared by the outgoing Yvo de Boer, but far more important is German chancellor Angela Merkel. Wholly in tune with the mood music, she too is downplaying the prospects. But she is actually going further, expressing doubts that a new deal can be made in time to replace Kyoto by the time it runs out in 2012.
With Obama's "cap 'n' fade" running into problems and the Aussies having little local difficulties with their attempts to commit economic suicide, things are not looking too good for the warmists. However, their Lemming-like tendencies are not to be under-rated and they may yet pull something out of the bag ... even if the occasional one is wearing a lifebelt.
CLIMATE CHANGE – END GAME
