It took the arguments of the man who might have been US President to persuade the one who is, as well as a great deal of lobbying, posturing and good old fashioned brow beating. But in the end they came to a conclusion that the majority, if not wanted, then at least realistically expected: a 'Bali' roadmap which embarks on a two-year process of negotiations aimed at agreeing on a new set of emission targets in 2009 to replace those contained within the Kyoto Protocol.
The climate chief of the UN, which sponsored this conference, was predicably relieved. Yvo de Boer said: "These past two weeks have been unique. We are about to embark on something which, for many years, countries were unwill-ing to embark on."
Although the positions of the three competing blocs - the EU, the US and developing countries, spearheaded by China and India - narrowed in the past few days, up till the eleventh hour it still seemed like the US, which consistently refused to sign Kyoto, would be the party poopers. But an apparent U-turn at the last minute, as well as the EU relenting on a demand to set specific emission reduction targets, may have changed the course of history.
The deal that was struck does not agree on a set of detailed measures; that was never the intention of the conference. But it brings closer together the economic powers of the world that were, if one forgives the pun, poles apart until relations thawed yesterday.
Many will wonder why it took so long to agree to pursue a goal which is as urgent as it is straightforward - what former US Vice-President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has described as a "planetary emergency".
Mr Gore, the highest profile exponent of this cause in recent years, reduced the scientific conundrum surrounding climate change to a simple sentence, saying: "The accumulation of greenhouse gases continues to trap more and more heat from the sun in our atomosphere, threatening the stable climate balance that has been a crucial assumption for the develop-ment of human civilisation." His relentless and witty exposition, together with footage of polar bears becoming stranded on melting ice, has driven the message into a lot of homes.
The best and worst thing about climate change is that it affects everyone. That includes us. Martin Scicluna, a member of the National Commission for Sustainable Development, highlighted this point graphically during a recent lecture at the Strickland Foundation in which he warned that the serious effects of global warming would be evident within the lifetime of most people alive today.
It is not just an increase in fuel prices that should force the Maltese to do their bit in order to save their bit of the planet, but also a permanent change in mentality.
Simple things, like recycling waste, like using vehicles which run on cleaner fuel, like using public transport more often, like investing in alternative energy as well as energy-saving devices, should be part of the forma mentis.
The Government too, now and particularly after the next election, must implement a comprehensive, sustainable and long term energy policy, in line with the EU's ambitious targets, so that we can lend our voice to the much tougher discussions that will take place in 2009.