How a single word could've derailed the entire climate change pact


Nearly every nation in the world approved a historic climate change deal Saturday, but getting to that point wasn't easy. One last-minute quibble was over a single word, Politico explains:
Obama administration lawyers discovered early in the day that the latest draft text had a potentially deal-killing tweak: Deep into the document, in Article 4, was a line declaring that wealthier countries "shall" set economy-wide targets for cutting their greenhouse gas pollution. [Politico]
Why the big fuss? Earlier drafts used "should" instead of "shall," a term that is legally binding in United Nations documents. If the U.S. hadn't worked to get "should" back in instead, the deal may have required final approval from the Republican-controlled Senate — a hard sell.
"When I looked at that, I said, 'We cannot do this and we will not do this,'" Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters. "'And either it changes or President Obama and the United States will not be able to support this agreement.'"
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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