"PARIS – Agreements on climate change — to paraphrase what the 19th century German statesman Otto von Bismarck said about lawmaking — are like sausages.

It is best not to know how they are made.

On Dec. 11 this coming year, 195 states are scheduled to strike a deal in Paris to curb the fossil-fuel gases imperiling Earth’s climate system.

The outcome will be determined in the coming months by Bismarck-style sausage making — a long, slow grind, and with many questionable ingredients."

Richard Ingham reports for AFP December 31, 2014. [2]