The political accord reached at the Copenhagen conference on climate change, which was widely criticised, especially in Europe, now appears to have much broader support.
For one thing, it had been widely reported that the conference decided not to endorse the agreement but merely to 'take note' of it. However, under the rules of the conference it could only endorse a document that had unanimous support. Hence, the next best step was to take note of it, a step not much different from an endorsement.
Certainly, the United Nations climate chief, Yvo de Boer, praises the agreement as 'impressive' and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging all countries to sign on to the agreement thrashed out by US President Barack Obama and Premier Wen Jiabao as well as the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa - so that work on transforming the political agreement into a legally binding treaty can begin.
A multibillion dollar fund to help poorer countries deal with global warming will become operational next month but it will only be available to countries that accept the accord.
It also turns out that an event widely described as a 'snub' by China of Obama may have been something quite different. At a meeting of leaders called by the United States, Wen was absent and China was represented by Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei.
A detailed account of Wen's activities in Copenhagen, posted on the Foreign Ministry's website and written by Chinese journalists accompanying the premier, reported that he was unaware of the meeting until 'a foreign leader' mentioned that there would be a small-group meeting after the dinner to discuss a new text and that China was on the list of countries taking part.
'It was really absurd that the country that called for the meeting never informed China,' the reporters wrote. Wen left the dinner, hosted by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, to huddle with his aides. He then sent the vice foreign minister to the meeting.
