The developed world has not lived up to the expectations of populations across the globe. … We must break down the barriers between North and South, between developed and developing countries, and establish collaborative arrangements whereby we can work together.”

Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

BusinessEurope makes a lot of contributions to the EU policy debate and is quite often given the floor in the UNFCCC context.”

Daniel Cloquet, director of industrial affairs for BusinessEurope

The only way to get to these low levels is for the whole world to act together with common targets and a common carbon price. We're not going to have a common approach. We're not going to have everyone with the same target and the same price on carbon.”

Brian Flannery, science program manager, Exxon Mobil

Our effort has been on each of these missions, wherever required, we also take business and industry along with us.”

Shyam Saran, India’s special envoy on climate change

We can get something done if it's based on what we all need. We can't get something done if it's based on what we all ideally want.”

Todd Stern, U.S. lead climate negotiator

In the beginning the access is pretty open. … You make three important points over a drink at a reception. It’s the UN fabric. In the beginning you have maybe 200 contacts and at the end only 20. At that point long-term relationships are important.”

Jos Delbeke, European Commission Office of the Directorate-General for the Environment

You’re turning around a huge ocean liner that’s been going in one direction for the whole industrial revolution. It is difficult and requires time. It requires creativity. It requires adaptability. It requires flexibility.”

Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the EU and President Clinton’s chief negotiator on the Kyoto protocol

I don’t want to spend time with senators. I’d rather spend time with staff, because I need to be in the details. People like to say ‘The devil is in the details,’ but my momma taught me God is in the details.”

James Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy

The science is clear and conclusive, and the impacts can no longer be ignored.”

President Barack Obama, United States

This is the second independence of Brazil (on the recent discovery of vast oil reserves).”

President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, Brazil

Many of those industries say they support zero deforestation. They all are favorable to zero deforestation, but only if it doesn’t affect their own land.”

Carlos Minc, Brazil’s environment minister

Promising too much, too soon when it comes to alternatives risks rendering the entire effort politically and economically unsustainable. And the world can't afford that.”

Lamar McKay, chairman and president of BP America

They can’t hinder regulations; that ship has left the dock. Now they try to prepare for this new transition. They say, ‘If we do that, we’ll have a chair at the table and can influence regulation.’ ”

Irja Vormedal, research fellow, University of Oslo

The usual industry you will find in the BINGO groups are the oil and gas industry, chemical industry — anybody who doesn't want to have their emissions reduced has been coming to this process to try to disrupt it ever since the beginning.”

Rémi Gruet, regulatory affairs advisor, European Wind Energy Association

The only way you really get leverage is if you can convince a delegation at home that it’s in their interest to have their instructions say this or that.”

Nick Campbell, lobbyist for Arkema Chemicals and climate change chair of the International Chamber of Commerce

The last thing we want is a target for 2020 that we can’t meet. … We have to reduce our emissions; it’s just a question of speed.”

John Scowcroft, head of environment, Eurelectric

The implication that lobbying somehow is sinister, I don’t buy it. We play an important role in that in terms of information gathering and information sharing.”

Kevin Fay, lobbyist and coolants representative

There’s going to be two more years of detailed nuts and bolts to work out… It's in those details that business will become very active to make sure the rules are written in such a way that favors what they’re going to try to do.”

Doug Russell, former delegate from Canada; now private business consultant

We need to get all the energy and clean it up as fast as we can, as efficiently as we can, while we keep the jobs, because we need the jobs to keep the quality of life improving.”

Red Cavaney, ConocoPhillips

You need a cap on emissions, and you need to signal that that cap is coming so that folks have time to react.”

Michael Allegretti, The Climate Group, an association of corporations and governments

The discussion leading into Copenhagen has been ‘Oh, we need leadership, we need leadership.’ Leadership off a cliff is not leadership.”

John Felmy, economist, the American Petroleum Institute