Copenhagen and beyond: reshuffling the cards

Expectations set upon the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen were extremely high. This was because the COP 13 in Bali had set the COP 15 as the deadline for achieving a legally binding agreement to replace or extend the Kyoto Protocol. Additionally, the heads of states’ attendance as well as attention from the media contributed to such high expectations. Therefore, the outcome of Copenhagen ‐ a basic political consensus ‐ was disappointing to many. Now that a few months have passed, much of the fog over the process has lifted, although it is still uncertain how to achieve a legally binding agreement that ensures the limitation of climate change to a level that can be adapted to.