According to the article, written by Jonathon Watts, John Vidal, Robin McKie, and Toby Helm, politicians and delegates at the summit were divided on a wide range of issues, and the outcome was a formally recognised accord, rather than the commitment to global cuts in carbon emissions which had been the target for many European states.
The writers claim that Ed Milliband, the British climate and energy secretary, was responsible for saving the talks from complete collapse, returning to the summit at 4am on the 19th of December after several countries threatened to veto the signing of an agreement on targets. The Observer seems to give Milliband a great deal of credit for his intervention, but aims at China for its lack of co-operation with those most concerned about climate change. I would be very interested to know how this summit has been reported in other countries, where I suspect the role of Britain might be praised less.
