Canadian summit avoids rocky outcome

The future of the Kyoto Protocol was looking bleak last month as the world's nations geared up to climate change talks in Montreal on 28 November. However, the outcomes appear to have surprised even the most sceptical of green campaigners, with Friends of the Earth stating a "clear signal has been sent that the future lies in cleaner and more sustainable technologies". Agreement was reached on the following key issues:

• the US agreed to take part in non-binding talks on long-term measures to combat global warming;
• India and China agreed to take part in future negotiations, even though they are exempt from Kyoto as they are classed as developing nations;
• countries already signed up to Kyoto have agreed to set new targets on greenhouse gas emissions when the treaty expires in 2012.

It is the stance of the US which is perhaps most encouraging, given the fact that they walked out of negotiations early on, only to backtrack due to the damning international reaction. Former President Bill Clinton stood up on prime time TV to denounce their stance and to state that as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the US could meet Kyoto's targets while strengthening their economy. The Bush administration may never sign up to Kyoto and its timetables, but is has become clear that many Americans are privately worried about global warming. Future negotiations must go further, and it is crucial that the next stage is to try to get countries to reduce their emissions by a more significant amount, and not the modest 5% it has taken 12 years to achieve.