Thus The New York Times today. “While president Obama’s policy on global warming has infuriated many at home, the United States’ image abroad is soaring, as was evident during climate negotiations in Peru,” explains the newspaper. America has long been viewed as one of the world’s worst culprits in connection with climate change, but that has changed. To their surprise, American negotiators in Lima are being met with cheers, applause, thanks, and praise. The change has to do with the recent agreement between America and China, the world’s largest polluters, to jointly commit to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases, which has led to unprecedented optimism prior to the international climate talks in Peru. Secretary of State John Kerry is there, as well, which is the first time that such a high figure has been engaged directly in the talks. Meanwhile, Obama’s opponents are preparing an all-out assault on his environmental policies. Even though they are not assured of success, the current optimism at climate talks may be fleeting. So far, Obama has failed to deliver on his promises in Copenhagen, and it is anyone’s guess what he will be able to bring to Paris next year. The Republicans in the Congress and Senate will do their best to undermine the final round of climate talks, which is supposed to provide a legally binding and universal agreement on climate to replace the Kyoto protocol of 1997. If accepted, the Paris protocol of 2015 would be implemented from 2020 onward. Fingers crossed.