The Copenhagen Climate Talks: The End of the Road for the UNFCC or a Step forward in the Evolution of the Regime?

In December, 2009, the most anticipated climate change negotiations in a decade took place in Copenhagen, Denmark.1 For two weeks, climate change took center stage in Copenhagen and around the globe with high expectations for a comprehensive global agreement on how to tackle climate change, one of the most complex challenges facing the human race. Over 130 of the 193 parties attending the negotiations were represented by their head of state or government, making Copenhagen the largest gathering of heads of state outside New York. Instead of making headlines with a comprehensive climate deal, Copenhagen made headlines with demonstrations, procedural battles inside the conference center, and the gradual exclusion of civil society from the negotiating process.2