BEING A rEALIST...:

Talks turn tense over China-US stalemate (Marlowe Hood, December 13. 2009, The National)

The world’s two largest carbon polluters were at loggerheads on key issues such as how to divide the burden of cutting greenhouse gases, whether such efforts should be independently verified, and whether the US owes developing countries, including China, a “climate debt”.

“The atmosphere seems extremely negative,” said Isabel Hilton, the editor of the online environmental newsletter China Dialogue.

“Everyone is taking tough positions, talking to their domestic audiences.

“It’s a big change of tone. Before coming, China made positive noises, even suggesting they were ready to announce a date at which their carbon emissions would peak.

“But here they have been hanging very tough.”

...means believing what the Chicoms say, not what they do. India, unlike the PRC or the President, has been honest about not doing anything.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 12, 2009 6:33 PM