Unless you attack population growth this is all Hot Air.

John, Glasgow, Scotland

Looks as if the US has adopted the old UK attitude (then to the EU), "if you can't wreck it from the outside, wreck it from within".

Bill McCann, Suzhou, China

The EU gave way, not the U.S. The E.U. caved in.
Very little of importance was achieved.
In any case the shortage of fossil fuels will eventually lower the pollution levels, not mankind. But too late of course.

Tom O'Farrell, Sarnia, Ontario. Canada

Once again the real rouge "state" on the Planet is revealed. The USA remains a great democracy but has been captured by a fundamentalist, neo-conservative oligarchy of Big Energy companies now complete with their own tame dog president & radical administration. However, this oligarch is not representative of the views & morality of the majority of mainstream US citizens. In Australia it took the removal of the Howard Government, a captive of 4 transnational energy corporations, to affect real change. In just over 1 year Bush & his cabal will be gone & the USA will then be able to fully take up its leadership role in solving the Global warming crisis.

david, mullumbimby, Australia

I am trying to wend my way through the objective facts and the subjective,emotional complaints about gas-guzzling SUVs, unhealthy Americans into some sort of perspective. Although here in Alaska there are actually bicycles with winter tyres I just can't visualize many cyclists in the intense cold of Mid and Northern Canada and the US Mid-West going too far,especially when carrying bags,or a bundle of skis.
We had to abandon our economical Toyota for a Subaru. Why?
Because there is little or no protection for the Toyota in a collision,and it doesn't have much traction, or control in a skid.
You HAVE to have four-wheel drive in States and Provinces with severe Winters.
Or try managing with a wood stove, or no heat.

Stanley Austin M.D., ANCHORAGE,, Alaska, U.S.

My skepticism of the necessity for action comes from 2 main reasons:

1) In general, more prosperous societies are cleaner, compare western Europe with Eastern Europe during the 70s and 80s. Many of the warming "cures" strike me as likely to diminish economic progress.

2) The primary spokesman for action is the worst possible - a politician, and not just any politician, but a divisive one with a history of fabrications ("I invented the internet" - "I'm just a Tennessee farm boy"). Imagine how many people would feel if George Bush in later years has a pet project, would anyone on the left believe him.

Bob, Lexington, TN

I like the idea of 'middle road' science. Another one to add to 'a bit pregnant ' or 'slightly winded'! True scientists would be speechless.

Murf-Oscar, Waverton, Australia

This is a terrible day for freedom. Many of us were hoping the USA would resolutely resist the socialist transnationalists and their various front groups who seek to govern while being "Non Governmental Organisations", laughably. We may ask exactly what right these special interest groups such as Greenpeace or the WWF have to be at these negotations, and why anybody should listen to them. They should have been excluded- except of course that the UN is but a trojan horse for these oligarchs. The feeble, corrupted "science" of Global Warming is already collapsing and had little merit to begin with. We, the voiceless citizens of the world, are being betrayed and led into the abyss by our own governments. It's time the media turned their sights on the currents of patronage and money swirling through the NGOs, "charities" and tranzi organisations, before it's too late.

Ian B, Northampton, England

More near pointless waffle. Whatis the point of an agreement when there is no definition on level of cuts and to all but ignore the science. They'll spend the next 10 years determining what deep cuts means and in the end we all know it will mean far less than it needs to be.

The US is killing this planet and it will soon be joined as equal assassins by China and India. These 'talks' more than any other subject expose the greed and futility of 21st century politians. We're happy to go to war over energy resources, how long will it be before there's a war due to the impact climate change. How fast will our politians act then.

Ian, Toronto, Canada

I don't think the science IS compelling. Climate change has been going on since the earth was born and the evidence does NOT point to mankind being the sole cause of the current changes. Everybody knows one volcano eruption puts out more gases than we do in a year. I believe that many of the figures being bandied around are directly from the Dept of Guesswork and are being twisted for political ends. I'm not saying we have no part in Climate Change but I am saying I don't believe that the politicians are telling us the truth.

Dave Rushworth, Lancaster, England

Political propaganda is NOT science. UK court says Gore is a fraud. August 2007 Update: Man-made Catastrophic Global Warming Not True. Unfortunately, Hansen is a political hack of George Soros. Further, flawed NASA Global Warming data paid for by George Soros. In order to be an intelligent reader you must have a basic knowledge. Please do your own homework; a starting point http://www.InteliOrg.com/ Remember CONSENSUS is NEVER science it’s always a POLITICAL STATEMENT (a Party Line).

Dr Coles, Los Angeles, USA

I'm a working scientist with a long-abiding interest and occasional participation in political affairs, so I'v e observed developments around climate change with interest since activists first started campaigning in the 1980's. Unfortunately, it is clear to me that the whole thing has been choreographed from beginning to end: the science has fallen too neatly along expected lines. The IPCC is primarily a political organisation, rather than a scientific one. It is a pity that for the first time since the Enlightenment, scientific method has been polluted in a major way by politics. No-one really knows the truth of the matter now. In my opinion, the heroic efforts of President Bush, Canadian and other supporting negotiatiors to bring some sanity to this unfortunate situation we are all faced with, are to be applauded.

nicholas moat, mississauga, canada

There is in fact NO LINK between quality of life and amount of energy used per capita.
A good life can be had at much lower levels of energy consumption by cutting waste and pulling back on (usually over-) consumption. As I think Gandhi so wisely said 'there is enough for everyone's need but not for their greed.'
Thank God - now Bali has shown us a clear way forward.

Dick Warn, Hertford, UK

Politicians are incapable of solving the global warming conundrum. They have spent their careers playing a game of "trade-offs", that's how politics works. "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours !"

Furthermore, though tasked with matters of strategic importance (which demand time spans of decades), they think short-term. In the U.S. it's four years (or less), in the U.K. five - from one election to the next.

Intertwined with this hopelessly inadequate system of governance, is big business run by bean-counters who know nothing, and care little about the environment.

As Stephen Hawking warns, we will cook before the millennium is out. I believe him.

Dave, Knysna, South Africa

I continue to be amazed by the seeming self serving attitude of the US delegation, while the other 179 countries jointly move towards creating and agreeing a constructive environmental step change the US continually seems to duck and dodge - the US has a chance here to lead by example, instead the delegates of the other countries seem to be taking the role of the parents pushing and pulling the US along like some toddler.

While I don't necassarily buy into doomsday predicitions it is hard to ignore the 'middle road' science that still suggests that if the greenland ice shelf melts (it holds 10% of the worlds ice and 20% of it melts regularly year on year now compared to only 5% 5 years ago) then half of florida will disappear so while the US talks about the economic impact of signing up to carbon emmisson reduction targets what would be the economic (and human) cost of loosing half a state...? and more because it wouldn't just be florida that would be affected...

John Stein, London, UK

Once again we have hapless politicians describing a plan as a ‘roadmap’ – roadmaps are factual, they actually lead somewhere, their plans are more like ‘snakes and ladders’ where politics and diplomacy are replaced by the throw of a dice.

Brian Christley, Abergele , UK

I woke up this morning (Saturday 15 Dec) to hear that they had reached agreement (in Bali) on preventing climate change, sure enough when I ventured out it was blooming freezing. I wonder what problem they will solve tomorrow.

Brian Christley, Abergele , UK

"Tom"

Or maybe they arent so eager to sign up to the 'World is doomed!!' craze thats going on at the moment.
Would you risk a $multi-trillion economy because of peoples mass hysteria?
Hell, the scientists cant say for sure that man is a prime contributor to this global warming. They dont even know whether it's natural or not.

Phill , The Wirral, UK

Bush, Cheney et al = Money from Oil - look at their history.
Why doesn't the civilised world wait until this regime is out and then re-negotiate with governance that at least, looks beyond their personal bank balances (dream!) and meanwhile, put pressure on possible future presidential candidates?
US Brothers and Sisters, please stop being hypnotised by the likes of FOX news. Your rulers are on par (if not worse - read: underhand) than your so called enemies.
Help Us to save Ourselves!
Peace.

Brenda, London,

Why bother?
I live near a couple of private schools in Los Angeles. Every morning there's a parade of giant SUV's dropping off the little darlings for school. One SUV = One darling student. Same parade at 3.30 pm. Green house gases...my tail pipe. We don't care. Let nature take its course and humans will be culled back. And we'll drive our Land Rover to the culling event.

Betty Fowler, Santa Monica,CA, USA

Mr. Jackson, I'm afraid you've bought into stereotypes. Not all Americans are obese, SUV-driving, Republican-base, religious fundamentalists. Each of these segments are a minority. A majority of Americans, however, regard the UK and UK citizens quite favorably. The only purpose served by your remarks is to damage that relationship, which also damages the ability of the UK to lead in the issue of climate change.

Greg Metcalfe, Albany, USA

I think human beings will only use less fossil fuel when there is less fossil fuel to use.
And that may come sooner than people think.

K Gardner, Leeds, UK

GWB didn’t kill the Kyoto treaty in the US, the US Senate did. Treaties must be ratified by a 2/3 vote of the Senate (p://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm) and Kyoto never had a chance of being ratified. The average US voter would have crucified their Senator for voting to cripple the US economy by ratifying a treaty that would have turned over regulation of a significant portion of the US economy to a UN treaty.

The Bali meeting burned a lot of jet fuel and sold a lot of tabloid Brit newspapers, but accomplished nothing. The US delegation agreed to further discussions at a late date about a hypothetical process that stands as much chance of being ratified by the US Senate as the Kyoto treaty.

Dan, Florida, USA

Reducing emissions is only part of the answer. The hockey stick shaped graph of the warming and one of the development and explosive increase of wireless communication would likely look too similar, in time frame and shape, to be a coincidence. Radio, data transmission, TV, cell phones, remotes, satellites, internet, trackers, locaters, sensors, CBs. pagers, hand helds galore, etc. all create or utilize energy frequencies that activate, thus warm, just as those from the Sun with no built in regular cooling periods. The denial would dwarf that of the warming, natural or man made, but nature cares not for human opinion or desire. It does what it does whether prompted by man or not. Phone a friend, melt some ice? Does anyone dare research such a graph? Everything needs to be on the table, convenient or not.

Dan Thompson, Union, Oregon

The US is afraid that agreeing to and meeting targets to control climate change will affect their economic development. Well, yes it will! The average American will have to cut the amount they consume considerably where all kinds of products are concerned including food and fuel. Guess what? They may even be healthier as a result, not so obese if they eat less and exercise more instead of driving around in gas-guzzling cars!

Tom Jackson, London, UK