Copenhagen, salty old queen of the sea

In a column today on the outcome at Copenhagen, David Aaronovitch strikes a note of realism (in the good sense), one that may be added to the discussion I've been having with Chris about global government. There's something else to be thrown into the mix, with national sovereignty, voluntary agreements between states, international law, and global government. David says what it is:

Copenhagen told us that international action on climate change will not be achieved by attempting to get an impossible consensus among all states, but by very specific understandings reached by the main actors.

It may not be perfect democracy at the global level but nor is it to be overlooked.