Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will

With COP 15 just seventeen days away, disappointment is slowly sinking in as it becomes clear that there will be no legally binding agreement coming out of Copenhagen. The need of the hour is for countries to display clarity in thought, ambition and political will. But the events over the past few weeks have been perplexing to put it mildly.

On one hand, countries and their leaders showed no ambition and will to commit to cutting emissions and taking concrete steps to mitigate climate change. On the other hand, they gathered at the world summit on food security and signed a declaration, in which they clearly state that they will proactively address climate change mitigation.

What are the world leaders trying to convey?

Amidst these mixed signals, growing skepticism over the political will to tackle emissions, rationality and intellect conclude that COP 15 will not reach any meaningful political agreement containing hard numbers and a strong framework facilitating a legal agreement at a later stage. But stranger things have happened, and the eternal optimism of human will believes that there is still the possibility of a strong political framework coming out of the negotiations.