COP15, the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, has come and gone. Amid all the drama – the leaking of negotiation texts, developing country walk-outs over the ‘killing’ of Kyoto, the exclusion of thousands of accredited participants from the conference centre, violent demonstrations in the street, and the 4am emergency call to Ed Miliband – we now ask ourselves, what was really achieved, and where do we go from here?

Copenhagen’s iconic mermaid – Is there a low carbon future ahead of us? (Photo by Tim Holland)

What was achieved?

Within the main part of the conference, the formal negotiations between national delegations, progress was certainly made. This is illustrated by the content of the Copenhagen Accord – a document ‘noted’ at the final hour by a group representing 49 developed and developing countries, together accounting for over 80% of global emissions.

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