The conclusion of the Copenhagen COP 15 climate change conference must be seen as an underachievement. Although many have pointed to the Copenhagen Accord not being a legally binding document as a key concern leading politicians had long announced that they did not think that such an outcome was possible from Copenhagen.
However, what was hoped for was a strong political declaration that would set a path to a legally binding document that would be agreed over 2010. In the end, the rushed Accord developed by a small number of heads of state set some admirable objectives, but appeared almost separately from the two weeks of negotiations and the two years of preparation that had led up to COP 15.
One sign of optimism was the almost complete agreement from governments, from richest to poorest, that climate change poses a serious threat and urgent and substantial action is needed to address it. It can only be hoped that future intergovernmental meetings can agree on what action to take.