“And I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah…
And I’m still willin’
To be movin’.”
That’s what COP 15 feels like to me – from 3,500 miles away, admittedly, but like a truckdriver that’s seen it all, and is still willin’. I said yesterday that the lead negotiators would need “poise, intelligence, good will and commitment.” I forgot stamina.
AFP reported earlier this evening that “Wealthy nations pledged some 22 billion dollars Wednesday to bankroll the war on global warming, delivering a huge shot in the arm to a UN climate summit marred by wrangling and violent protests.” Japan made the biggest commitment. At the same time,”The Times” also reported “African nations have reduced their demands for compensation from rich countries for the impact of climate change and suggested a compromise that could lead to an historic agreement at the Copenhagen summit.”
Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I think tomorrow and Friday will see something much more along the lines of what we’ve been expecting: a package that will move this whole process forward, giving this old mother planet of ours a fighting chance to restore itself to its former transcendent perfection.
