A week and a half of climate change mitigation talks in Bonn, Germany proved to be remarkably effective in creating a strong consensus - but not on climate change. Everybody does seem to agree, however, that the countries that should be leading the charge are instead being a total pain in the ass.

The perception is growing among developing and environmentally progressive delegations that the US, Canada and Australia are stonewalling, nit-picking, and generally acting uncooperative and unproductive - and endangering the progress of climate talks in the process. Indian delegation member Chandrashekhar Dasgupta said simply, "It could well be said that we have been beating around the bush."

"The unfortunate reality of the situation is that we are not making progress," said Aysar Tayeb of Saudi Arabia, even more bluntly.

Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said that the prospects for meaningful progress in the current round of talks are "daunting." The UN hopes to produce a revised, more comprehensive, and more stringent climate change protocol to replace Kyoto by the end of 2009.

While we're dismayed, we're hardly surprised. The political and corporate pressure in the US to do nothing in climate talks trumps science, good sense, and even national pride - and as a result, the countries that should be leaders and innovators are reduced to dead weight. As far as we're concerned, a comment made during the Bali talks still holds true: "The US should lead, follow, or get out of the way."