Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins discusses the conflicting emotions that Copenhagen causes.

The president's December 18 speech to the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The arrival of world leaders, including President Obama, is shaking up the U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

Jamie Henn: Though many of the people that I have been talking to here in Copenhagen remain doggedly hopeful, their hope has little to do with our supposed “leaders." It has to do with all of you.

Though some are defending the agreement as a first step, climate activists and residents of the Global South say that the precedent set by the agreement is a dangerous one.

"Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" is a public art exhibit featuring over 25 large globes, each with a different message about climate change. The exhibit was introduced to Copenhagen in November and will stay up while the climate talks take place.

To show their support for a legally binding climate agreement coming out of Copenhagen, climate activists came together December 11-13 to hold candlelight vigils and rallies to show solidarity with the nations who suffer the earliest and most severe impacts of climate change. In Copenhagen, 60,000 people attended a mass demonstration on December 12. Over 1,000 people were arrested.