US still lacks in power of its examples

It would be a sheer lie for world leaders to say they are happy with the Copenhagen climate accord. Many of them only reluctantly signed the toothless declaration last Friday.

I was excited at first when my iPhone news headlines showed world leaders reaching the accord, described by United States President Barack Obama as "meaningful and unprecedented". As I read the text, that kind of thrill soon turned into frustration and anger. The two adjectives used by Obama are clearly an overstatement.

The Copenhagen conference had drawn "unprecedented" attention on climate change, with leaders from more than 190 countries attending, so there was high expectations that these leaders would have the "unprecedented" wisdom to move forward with real solutions, instead of taking a step backward by striking a deal with no real "meaningful" substance.