The United Nations General Assembly convened a two-day climate conference, starting today, at U.N. headquarters in New York City that it hopes will keep up and/or spur momentum in the lead up to a meaningful post-Kyoto climate agreement by 2009. The event is being billed as a “thematic debate” and has attracted celebrities including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, billionaire biofuels proponent Richard Branson, and green-leaning actress Daryl Hannah. Representatives from nearly 100 nations have signed up to speak, but since nothing is going to be negotiated, it’s unclear what the United States’ role at the conference will be. After all, what do obstructionists do when there’s nothing to obstruct?
