Why future generations will suffer more than necessary

Der Spiegel has an interesting article on the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit last December. Basically, China, India, Brazil and South Africa stood fast against any targets for greenhouse gas emissions for developing nations; they would not reduce their rates of economic growth as would be necessary to achieve reasonable targets. Obama recognized that the U.S. people and Congress would not support an agreement that did not involve cuts from developing countries (recognizing his inability to get support if he agreed to such an treaty). So a target of two degrees of warming by the end of the century will almost surely not be met, sea levels will rise, weather patterns will change, major agricultural dislocations will occur, and mass population migrations will be required.