Peyton Knight shares his thoughts on the COP-11 global warming conference:

The National Center’s delegation to Montreal has returned to the United States, and the U.N. Climate Change Conference has come to an end.A summary of the happenings in Montreal on CNN’s website leads with the headline: “U.S. Isolated on Climate Change.”

This is misleading at best.

Next month the U.S., China, India, Japan, Australia and South Korea will convene to kick-off the Asia-Pacific partnership. The partnership is voluntary (unlike the Kyoto Protocol, chains participants to emissions reductions caps), and promises to embrace economic growth and technological development as weapons in the fight for a better environment and less greenhouse gas emissions (unlike the Kyoto Protocol, which harms economic growth and the technological advancement growth breeds).

Considering the aforementioned six nations comprise roughly half the world’s population, the United States is hardly “isolated” on climate change.

On the other hand, the U.S. has “isolated” itself quite nicely from the climate change hypocrites in Europe and Canada. The European Union, despite its alarmist mantra, is on a sure track to miss its Kyoto targets. Eleven of the fifteen original European Union members have reported increased emissions since 1990.

Canada, host country to the recent conference, has seen its emissions rise by 24 percent since 1990. Its Kyoto emissions target of 6 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012 isn’t likely to be met, either.

The American delegation did agree to participate in future “nonbinding” discussions on climate change — much to the chagrin of global warming theory enthusiasts.

As for the conference itself, Richard Kinley, acting head of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, declared: “This has been one of the most productive U.N. Climate Change Conferences ever.”

If true, it doesn’t speak too highly of past conferences.

The conference had two major objectives. Both were left unrealized.

One: Conference delegates were supposed to create an enforcement mechanism to hold nations bound by the Kyoto Treaty accountable to the Kyoto emissions reductions targets they had pledged to reach. This was not accomplished. Instead, a compliance committee was elected and it will be tasked with creating an enforcement mechanism.

Two: Conference delegates were supposed to devise a plan for future, more stringent emissions reductions after 2012, when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires. This was not accomplished. Instead, they simply agreed to meet again on the topic.

Of course, from the perspective of many conference attendees, the U.N. can’t schedule too many global warming conferences. These meetings are convenient vehicles by which delegates and green groups from around the world can gather and bash the United States in unison, while dining in fine restaurants, on somebody else’s nickel.

The uncertainty of the science regarding humanity’s impact on climate change isn’t discussed. The devastating economic costs of complying with Kyoto are glossed over. It repeatedly is stressed that storms, floods, droughts, disease are all on the near horizon if we humans (especially American humans) don’t repent immediately and take Kyoto seriously. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are forgotten, and the gospel of anthropogenic global warming is anointed in its place. But the religion of the false god Kyoto has strict rules. Stepping out of line by suggesting nuclear power as a sensible way to produce adequate amounts of energy without CO2 emissions is to risk being called a blasphemer.

The conference had a carnival-like atmosphere. There were mascots, including a polar bear and a “climate change recycle bear,” a giant panda and even a “Kyotometer,” which resembled a “strength-o-meter” commonly found at county fairs.

If the U.N. climate change crusade has become a circus, the COP meetings are its big tent.