At the world's largest ever summit on climate change held in Copenhagen's Bella Centre, an enormous white globe on display may have inadvertently foreshadowed future events. A vigilant observer pointed out that small, low-lying Pacific island nations like Tuvalu and the Cook Islands were not painted on the giant earth model, and Antarctica was also missing. Scientists warn that rising global temperatures will result in melting polar icecaps and higher sea levels by the end of the century. As island nations urged major economies like China and the United States to reach a new climate agreement during the 12-day talks, questions arose about whether this oversight was an embarrassing mistake by the event organisers. The UN climate talks concluded with a minimal agreement on Saturday, where delegates acknowledged a deal made by the US, China, and other emerging powers. This agreement fell far short of the conference's original objectives, leading many to label the talks a failure. The accord, which is not as strong as a legally binding treaty or even the anticipated 'political' agreement, left much unspecified. It aimed to limit global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold for potentially harmful changes like increased floods, droughts, and rising sea levels. However, it did not outline how this goal would be achieved. The agreement offered the possibility of $100 billion in annual aid starting in 2020 for developing countries, but did not specify the exact source of this funding. It also postponed important decisions on emissions reductions. Another set of climate negotiations is planned for November 2010 in Mexico, where negotiators aim to accomplish what was not achieved in Copenhagen: a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. However, success is not guaranteed.