Cop16 Climate Talks Resume In Cancun

Beginning this morning and running through December 10th, the 16th edition of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP16) will attract political and environmental delegates from around the globe to move on those climate change decisions that were previously made at COP15 in Copenhagen.  Hopes are that the COP16 meeting will lay the foundations to deliver a new international climate deal to reduce the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the high stakes of maintaining a status quo approach to global CO2 emissions, the buzz in the run-up to the conference is that a comprehensive, legally-binding global agreement is not achievable by the end of this year.  In its place, parties appear to be maneuvering towards a balanced package of decisions that can send a strong signal that countries remain committed to the process of…

Hello? Oh I’m sorry, I put you to sleep.  I don’t blame you. In fact I’d be surprised if you made it to the second paragraph before clicking off to YouTube to watch a kitten giving another cat a massage.

Fuck it… let’s call a spade a spade.

We are being set up to expect very little out of COP16.  With a flaccid global economy, even more flaccid climate leadership from developed nations, atmospheric CO2 at 387.18 ppm and rising (safe target is 350 ppm) , and a public more interested in TSA rather than CO2, COP16 looks like it’s yet another prelude to even more meetings down the road.  The only upshot here is that the  municipality of Benito Juárez in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula will get a much needed economic boost from all those COP16 delegates traveling on expense accounts.

So since there’s no reason to expect any meaningful climate breakthroughs to come out of Mexico, here’s some news on how puberty is wreaking havoc with Justin Bieber’s vocal chords. I expect this to be a banner day for DSN traffic.