As Nelson Mandela famously said*: “It always seems impossible, until we are done.”
That is exactly how it seemed at the United Nations COP-17 climate negotiations over the past two weeks – extremely difficult (and even impossible at times). The negotiations lasted more than than 36 hours after they were supposed to end. They culminated in some extremely passionate statements from the floor and a quick “open air” negotiation among the major players to try to address one last minute disagreement. Eventually they ended in agreement in the dim light of Sunday morning.
The agreements reached in South Africa make important progress, but much more work lies ahead to address global warming.
Here is a quick overview of what was agreed and what it means:
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