MORE POWER DESIRED

It should come as no surprise that lefties want to establish a Team Global Village, Environment Police as part of the United Nations:

SARAH CLARKE: Climate change has been described by the outgoing United Nations Secretary General as "grave a threat as conflict, poverty and the spread of weapons".

Yet even members of the United Nations Environment Program say the agency is overstretched, and needs more power if it's to fulfil its role. Shafqat Kakakhel is the Executive Director.

SHAFQAT KAKAKHEL: We think that we need an international organisation of a higher profile, a higher stature, in order to deal with the ever-worsening and escalating environmental challenges that the planet faces.

Europeans are, of course, behind the push:

SARAH CLARKE: The European Union is leading the charge to give the UN the resources and the higher profile it needs to deal with the escalating challenges.

The last meeting was in Washington, this time it's in Sydney. But the EU is not expecting Australia and the United States to support a more powerful, binding United Nations.

French Ambassador to the Environment Laurent Stefanini is here for the talks

LAURENT STEFANINI: So, it's difficult for us to understand the government, the friendly government of an important country like Australia not keeping with its traditional commitment to international governance.

At least Australia has resisted the temptation to attack New Zealand, and God knows we've been provoked.

Anyway, all of the climate change hoopla has been a greasing of the skids, so to speak.