As the Politico tells it, Copenhagen is in total disarray. The question is, why would anyone be surprised?

It all bears a more than passing resemblance to the original Star Trek series. Take away the boots, horses, six-shooters and cowboy hats and replace them with star ships, shuttle craft, phasers and tricorders. Replace hostile Indian tribes with hostile aliens. Trade the western frontier for the final frontier. Same old story with new sets.

We call them "developing" nations, although they've never developed anything in my life time except billion dollar Swiss bank balances from pilfered foreign aid. They want what they've always wanted--the next pay-off. Whether you call it a subsidy to help with carbon mitigation or not is up to you--we know what it really is.

The Europeans are willing to make that payment, for the same reasons they always been willing to make the payments--buying influence in the former colonies and access to the natural resources of Africa and Asia.

Economically productive countries want to stay economically productive, so they aren't going to do anything that would threaten their positions atop the heap. They go to these things to have people kiss their rings and see who they can buy off.

All politics, whether local or not, always boils down to robbing somebody...