emissionsreductions

In a political victory, Barack Obama emerged from the climate summit in Copenhagen Friday with a global deal to reduce earth-harming emissions. But greens were disappointed the cuts weren't binding while skeptics were sad there was any deal at all.

As the world's leaders converge for the global climate summit, the clouds over what had been deemed a fairly useless exercise in geopolitical stagecraft appear to be lifting. Most dramatic is a proposal that rich nations provide a $100 billion per year to help poorer nations cope with emission cuts.

Not too long ago, getting a package to arrive overnight was a good enough marketing claim to win over customers. But in this era of sustainable business practices, everyone from Wal-Mart (WMT) to Walt Disney (DIS) is burnishing their eco-cred in the hopes of coat-tailing on the current green...