OPINION: From Deadlock to "Yes We Can"

It was apparent on arriving in Poznań that this was not an auspicious venue for the final Conference of the Parties before the crucial Copenhagen Conference a year from now. The smell of sulfur was heavy in the air in this largely coal-dependent region of Central Europe. And the pall cast by the economic calamity that has overtaken the global economy weighed even more heavily on government officials contemplating the investments needed to combat climate change. Even European leaders, who have been the champions of climate policy over the past decade, decided to weaken their own climate commitments just as the Poznań meeting was coming to a close.

The failure of industrialized countries to curb their own emissions-and to provide funding to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change-created an acrimonious atmosphere in Poznań. Developing-country delegations spent much of their energy angrily denouncing the failures of the richer nations, and the pleas of everyone from small island country leaders to Al Gore to focus on common interests rather than short-term squabbles seemed to fall on deaf ears as negotiators fought for the interests of their own nations.

But despite the sulfurous atmosphere, the glimmerings of a brighter future were also visible in Poznań. Many developing-country leaders indicated increased willingness to take action to address climate change-and growing awareness that they have a crucial role to play if a habitable planet is to be salvaged. Mexico, an oil-producing country, surprised delegates with its announcement that it would cut emissions in half by 2050, and Brazil did the same with its pledge to reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 70 percent over the next decade. If this trickle of new commitments can be turned into a torrent over the next year, the chances of a successful outcome in Copenhagen will improve markedly.

The big test for Obama on climate policy is whether he can transform the politics of avoiding sacrifice into the politics of competing for the economic opportunities that will come from building a sustainable global economy. For the world's climate, there is only one answer: "Yes we can!"

Christopher Flavin is President of the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C.