"KATOWICE, Poland — Global talks to combat climate change risked breaking up with little to show for them, participants here said Wednesday, with the hostile U.S. stance on aggressive action leaving a leadership void that other countries have been reluctant or unable to fill.

The year’s largest gathering of climate negotiators, with nearly 200 countries represented, is seen as a crucial moment when the world will either commit to ramping up its ambitions to attack the issue or risk falling even further behind in staving off the worst effects of global warming.

Yet with two days to go before the talks are scheduled to close, participants say they have seen scant progress. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said Wednesday that “key political issues remain unresolved” and warned bluntly that “we are running out of time.”"

Brady Dennis and Griff Witte report for the Washington Post December 12, 2018. [2]