There is so little to celebrate, that to snub the climate deal would be totally inappropriate. The 2-degrees Celsius warming goal is the objective. Meanwhile, the warming will in reality be limited to 3-degrees Celsius. The five-year revision clause regarding greenhouse gas emissions is a positive added value.
It would be naive to argue that all is solved. The targets are not legally binding and developing countries are still set against measures which might slow growth. China chose to join the "developing camp", which is ironic. The island nations did not get their 1.5% goal. Financial commitments remain hazardous. Still the world came together!
Of course the debate will continue, especially in the United States, where the Republicans are hostage to coal, guns and Evangelicals. President Obama would like his administration to be considered as the climate change champion...so much for Al Gore. The French scored a real diplomatic coup and their foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, deserves praise for his negotiating skills.
One wishes that consensus could be found on other issues, among countries with different, often contradictory interests. Such a breakthrough looks unrealistic. The clash of civilizations is on a collision course. It will get even worse if ISIL is not deprived of the land which feeds it or the media which multiply it. The silent majority of Muslims will remain out of sight as long as the nihilistic narrative gets a free-rein. It looks as if, in the short run, no reversal is to be expected. The bold beholders of martyrdom will continue to strike and the West, prisoner of absurd rules of engagement of its own making, will remain a target rather than the game-changer. Its "heroic" leaders will not forgo their vacation nevertheless. San Bernardino might even get a stop-over on the way to Hawaii. Who knows?
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