There is a great advert for a tech company that illustrates the challenges of its tasks as a bunch of cowboys trying to herd cats (see below)… which is the analogy that springs to mind when one reads about the challenges of agreeing a global response to climate change, as per the two big shindigs going on at the moment.
Inside the building, concerns were almost as diffuse. Some thought the most pressing aspect of climate change was rising sea levels; others, the growing intensity of storms and droughts; and others the spread of pests and diseases. Many poor countries felt more money was needed to address the problem; rich ones fretted about a lack of political will and popular enthusiasm. South Africa wanted more “mainstreaming of women and youth”. Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, called capitalism the “worst enemy”. A sheikh from the United Arab Emirates said too vigorous a response to global warming could wreck oil-dependent economies. And President George Bush, not content with the UN event, held his own meeting on climate change on September 27th.