Paris climate conference at the end of week one: taking stock

The Paris climate conference began on 30 November. Olivia Gippner assesses the progress made in the first week of discussions, noting that while a negotiating text has been agreed, most of the critical issues have been left for the second week. She writes that one of the trends apparent in the first week is that the EU’s status has changed significantly from the 2009 summit in Copenhagen, with the EU losing some of its leadership role to China and the United States.