The Climate Change Debate s Willpower Fallacy

It will power the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

We do have alternatives, and we have the power of free will to choose those alternatives, those sustainable ones, to create a greener future.

COPENHAGEN There is a dangerous misperception that willpower and political agreement are the only missing ingredients needed to combat global warming.

Not only is there insufficient political will for an international force, but, more importantly, there are valid doubts about the feasibility and prospects for the success of such an operation.

If myths could come true through sheer willpower, Cristina Kirchner, the wife of Argentine President Néstor Kircher, would already be a 21st century Evita Perón.

But it is also true that with adequate political will, the UN Security Council could live up to its responsibility to Zimbabweans by responding to the crisis more aggressively.

China s Triumph of the Will

Political will and commitment

The Palestinians, for their part, have the necessary will.

What is required is not simply political will.

But do we also have the political will?

Individuals often lack willpower or access to healthy food or convenient exercise facilities, and are surrounded by poor examples that encourage instant gratification rather than effort and restraint.

So what is needed is not negotiations, but political will.

Here, too, political will is the crucial ingredient.

Civil society actors and NGOs can partner with governments and intergovernmental organizations to

Historically, we used to have this type of political will.

The political will was there in 2000.

A reaffirmation of political will is essential.

In conclusion, political will is key to success.

The eurozone has so far managed to prove the doomsayers wrong. By sheer force of political will, compromise after compromise has been reached, thereby sustaining a historic project that is not, in its current state, sustainable.

A second component is political will and timing.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Private funds cannot operate without these two giant markets, and would have to comply with their requirements.

The real problem is one of political will, not of institutional mechanics.

The proposed policies can be readily implemented if given the political will.

Poland believes that this Organization is not lacking in political will.

But the problem was a lack of resources, not a lack of willingness.

This will require political will and leadership on our part.

But with sufficient White House willpower, the administration can see this through. What is needed is a change in the rules set by the Department of Labor, which has jurisdiction over retirement related issues.

But military intervention in Darfur without the Sudanese government s consent is not an option today. Not only is there insufficient political will for an international force, but, more importantly, there are valid doubts about the feasibility and prospects for the success of such an operation.

Rather, it is the result of the political will of each of its Member States.

Is there the political will necessary to keep the promises made to our children?

In that light, ways of generating positive political will should be encouraged.

I do not agree, as is often said, that there is no political will.

The stark truth is that without strong political will and clear arguments, any future French president is unlikely to curb the strength of lobby groups and old networks that have dominated France s relationship with Africa.

If myths could come true through sheer willpower, Cristina Kirchner, the wife of Argentine President Néstor Kircher, would already be a 21st century Evita Perón. But myths are a collective and mysterious construction.

Practical wisdom, Aristotle told us, is the combination of moral will and moral skill.

You can't force people of free will, and I totally support that.

We have a choice. We've been blessed, or cursed, with free will.

But this very political strength is precisely what both the Israeli and Palestinian governments lack.

What is now required is the will to adopt and implement Ahtisaari s plan.

Generating the political will would require a Plan B for the EU itself.

Achieving an agreement also requires political will at the highest levels.

So the problem is not one of regulation, but of the will to enforce it.