The conference concludes with . . .

The climate conference has concluded with some agreements that don’t do enough, but the leaders did change the tone and kept it from ending with nothing. The agreements and pledges to cut emissions are not going to keep us below the 2degrees Celsius warming threshold scientists warn could be disastrous, but it is a start. Though much of what was accomplished was pledged before the conference, the $100 billion annually pledged by 2020 to support developing countries and the movement by China to become more transparent were positive steps.

Here is an interesting White House transcript that highlights the meeting President Obama had with leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa, and China that supported the agreements that were reached. What appeared earlier in the week as almost a lost cause was changed through the interactions of leaders in critical countries. This meeting is giving some cause to reconsider the process for future U.N. meetings like this. That makes good sense. There are simply too many countries each with equal opportunity to control the outcome to reach the critical decisions that must be made to preserve the future of this one world.