THE clock was ticking, tempers were strained. It was the last significant sticking point in agreeing the action plan that is expected to be the main outcome of the World Summit. But in the end the European Union had to admit defeat.
The final text would set no specific targets for increasing the use of energy from wind, wave and sun, and negotiators from the US, Japan and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, could go home claiming a key victory.
Though hugely symbolic, European targets for renewables were never more than modest. At the moment…
