Maintaining momentum after copenhagen's collapse: Seal the deal or seattle the deal?

Patrick Bond discusses the failure of the Copenhagen Accord held in December 2009 to resolve climate issues. The Accord failed on its own terms, missing its first deadline, on January 31, 2010 for signing on and declaring cuts for carbon emissions, leaving UN climate chief Yvo de Boer to concede that deadlines were 'soft.' Emissions cuts, which imply a catastrophic 3.5°C increase by the end of the century, are completely inadequate. The Accord departed from Kyoto Protocol and Bali Action Plan principles, which set out much more ambitious targets for richer countries than poorer countries. Opportunities abounded for climate justice activism following Copenhagen, as leading U.S. forces in San Francisco carried out various protests at Senator Boxer's office, Chevron headquarters, City Hall, and the Danish consulate as well as teachins in December-January. Organizing and consciousness-raising are critical, perpetual steps, just as excitedly contested as the right to protest in Copenhagen.