The Cancun Climate Summit is scheduled to start on November 29, and Jones Lang LaSalle has just signed the Cancun Communiqué, which sets out the case for action on climate change.

Not much is expected to happen at this “last-chance” summit before the first commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

The U.S. and China, the world’s largest carbon producers, have not been able to agree on ways to measure, monitor and verify emissions, and are unlikely to sign onto the protocol before the commitment period expires.

You can read more about the goals and challenges of Cancun, as well as an overview of where various countries stand on carbon efficiency and other sustainability indicators, in the newest installment of Global Sustainability Perspective, our quarterly report on energy and sustainability issues around the world.

One passage in particular I found enlightening. The report notes that the 15 European Union signatories to the Kyoto Protocol are on track to reach their goal of reducing CO2 by 8 percent between 2008 and 2012 compared to the 1990 baseline year -- "and this in spite of a 45 percent economic growth over the same period."

So despite what many in the U.S. seem to believe, CO2 reduction and economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals.

Here is an excerpt from our quarterly report that provides a walk-up to the Cancun summit:

Everyone has been busy preparing the "last-chance" climate summit to be held in Cancun, Mexico, starting at the end of November. The term "last chance" refers to the fact that the commitment period accepted by countries via the Kyoto Protocol to cut Greenhouse Gases by a certain amount expires at the end of 2012. Efforts over the past couple of years have been focused to continue such a commitment beyond this initial date, either within the existing Kyoto Protocol or within a new agreement.

After only a partially successful Copenhagen climate deal last year where the major nations settled for an annual $100 billion fund to finance the expected cost of climate change impacts for poor countries by 2020, all eyes are now turning, in an annual rhythm, to the next climate summit.

All Those Pre Meetings …

In preparation for the Cancun summit and to ensure its effectiveness, hundreds and even thousands of representatives of the world’s nations have been meeting since the beginning of the year: Between gatherings in Bonn, Germany, New York and earlier this month in Tianjin, China, environment ministry delegates have started to prepare the 12-day negotiations which are due to start on the 29th November. However, there are already mixed signs on the potential outcomes of the Mexican climate meeting.

Next Page: Different voices, different views.