Not much progress in Poznan...We need to pick up the pace to Kopenhagen!

Well, the meetings are over and for a lot of us it is hard to shake the feeling that have wasted our time here and over the last year. Of course on particular topics there has been movement and evolution. On my focal area of land use, land use change and forestry, things are moving and the understanding and analysis of what needs to change has advanced a lot within the environmental community.

And the talks over the last year have seen constructive proposals from the likes of China, South Africa, Mexico, Norway.... but the major industrialized nations of the World have not been acting with the required resolve or urgency to put this new agreement in place.

On the positive side, the bare minimum outcome needed here was achieved: the Chairs of the working groups have a mandate to formally kick off negotiations on legal text on the new agreement in 2009. So despite the delay, it is still possible AND CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, to reach a deal by Copenhagen next December.

I'm coming home now to enjoy the snow!