A dozen Copenhagen winners

It’s a bit early I know but let’s assume that there is a weak agreement at Copenhagen that we really, really ought to do something but only what’s politically feasible, starting quite soon. Here’s a dozen professionals who come away happy. 

(1) The campaigners. They’ll say that they have moved things on quite a bit and must be given lots more funding so they can press on.

(2) The politicians. They’ll say that they have made a decent beginning on a difficult road and would have liked to go further but some foreigner or other (and even domestic politics) held them back.

(3)  Business will say that they welcome the emerging consensus that action (to rig markets) has only one direction of travel and that they are longing to invest to help (which is code for having more predictable markets to work in).

(4) The handful of climate change deniers will  hug to themselves the refusal of the vast mainstream to accept their arguments, and indeed will claim their own view is suppressed whilst the alarmists who dominate the mainstream are liars.

(5) The alarmists will thrill to their anxiety that the agreed action is wholly inadequate which is blindingly obvious though lots more research is needed to dot the i’s and cross the t’s not least to persuade the purblind.

(6) The extreme climate change science sceptics will thrive on denouncing the expense and interference involved in delivering Copenhagen as wasted and dangerous (because to do anything about a non-problem is a waste).

(7) The extreme climate change policy sceptics will say the same thing (but because doing too little about a problem might as well not be done at all).

(8) The pathetically mild climate change science and policy sceptics (that would be me) will say it might all just about be worth doing because it’s not going to happen too quickly or cost too much before we get a chance to say we want to increase or scrap the planned actions which may be useful on other grounds. 

 (9) Obama will win because he will be shown to be different from Bush.

(10) The anti-Obamas will win because he will be shown to be not all that different from Bush.

(11) The Chinese, Brazilians and Indians will say the rich world is disgrace.

(12) The rich world will say (much more politely) that the boot’s on the other foot.