Unlikely for Climate Change Deal by End of Year

With the close of the weekend's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore, world leaders, including President Obama, acknowledged that "there's no hope of a major breakthrough over climate change by year's end."

The acknowledgment followed Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen telling the leaders gathered for the APEC summit in Singapore that next month's conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, is no longer likely to yield a major accord to battle global warming.

While at the APEC summit, Obama made a surprise visit to a breakfast devoted to climate change and "spoke about the importance of achieving success in Copenhagen."

But the definition of "success" seems to be changing. Rasmussen briefed the leaders on preparations for the long-awaited international conference in his homeland and drastically scaled back expectations. Rasmussen unveiled a strategy that he dubbed "one agreement, two steps," aimed at putting together a deal over a longer period.

Obama is not even sure yet if he will attend the Copenhagen Climate Conference, although of course Al Gore is lobbying Obama to attend, "saying it would send a strong signal to the world about America's commitment to forging a deal."