Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Thanks to Papua New Guinea, this quote by Thomas Paine is what made the United States change its mind on its staunch opposition to the Statement of the UN Climate Change Conference. After two weeks of almost getting nowhere partly because of a controversial preamble, the Bali Conference can finally be called a success, at least partially. The conference statement, and the US' (halfhearted) support for it, opens the door for two more years of talks that will culminate in 2009, in Copenhagen.

It must be remembered that as of today, the US is the only UNFCCC party that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. After Australia changed prime ministers, it left the US standing on that disgraceful rostrum alone.

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FYI: Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark. Now, speaking of capital cities ...