The Russian law against "homosexual propaganda" has stirred up a wave of private violence against homosexuals.

Advocacy of gay rights is also banned by the law.

The European Union's new renewables target does not apply to individual countries; the UK now has no target for renewable energy.

This is what the UK government fought for, so that it could slow the increase of renewable energy and burn as much fossil fuel as possible.

Shell has been blocked from oil drilling in Alaskan waters on the grounds that the threats to the environment have not been studied.

Many Chinese anti-corruption activists are being put on trial.

The Chinese government hardly tries to disguise the fact that they are being tried for political activities, unlike the US where protesters face charges of a "terrorist hoax" for the glitter that fell off their banner.

The EU has adopted targets for greenhouse gas reduction and for renewable energy generation, for 2030.

Announcing a target is only the first step to reaching it. It is a good thing that the corrupt EU governments (mainly UK) that serve the fossil fuels were overridden, but they did weaken the targets.

Meanwhile, these targets are insufficient to prevent disaster.

The big question, for civilization, is whether the US, Canada and Australia, effectively subservient to fossil fuel companies, will frustrate hopes for a climate protection agreement in 2015. They have won every time so far.

Success requires cooperation from China, India, Brazil, Indonesia and other major countries.