Q. So far what are your impressions about the Copenhagen conference?
A. The thing I keep hearing from people is that this is "the most complicated negotiation in history." You've got 193 parties here, thousands of representatives of nongovernmental organizations, about 3,500 journalists from all over the world (the media center is a mini UN), not to mention the heads of state, security, etc. The logistics are absolutely ridiculous.
People have waited for an entire day to get into the building. Heads of governmental agencies have shivered outside for hours. Worse, NGO representatives were strictly limited this week, which can hamper the talks because many NGOs provide crucial functions to governments, particularly developing countries that don't have large negotiating teams.
Q. What do you think is likely to come out of the conference?
A. I think the most likely outcome is a political agreement calling for further emissions cuts by developed countries and many developing nations, and providing short-term financing for developing countries to adapt to climate change. There is also likely to be a deal on financing a new program to combat global deforestation, which is significant. However, unless something very unexpected happens, the actions taken here won't be even remotely commensurate with what scientists have repeatedly been saying is necessary to address the problem.