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Obama may be talking the climate change talk in Paris, but back home the Republican Party (GOP) is doing everything in its power to make sure there is no deal.

With less than one week before Paris climate talks, known officially as the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21), the campaign group Corporate Accountability International has released a report exposing the “filthy” track record of some of the corporations sponsoring the talks.

To start with one huge, massive, significant step forward. Victories do not come sweeter than this. After years of campaigning by millions of people from grass-roots activists, First Nations, farmers and ranchers to environmental groups such as Oil Change International, Sierra Club, 350.org and many others, President Obama announced on Friday that the controversial Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline is dead.

The Lima UN climate talks which open today were always the diplomatic aperitif before the main three course carbon-fest in Paris next year. However they open with a renewed sense of optimism that after 20 years of delay and political deadlock – often driven by the fossil fuel industry – a deal may well be in sight for Paris.

One step forward - two steps back or two steps forward one step back? It’s been a topsy turvy couple of weeks as far as the climate is concerned. We have had the Republicans gaining control of both sides of the House and Obama pulling a climate rabbit out of the hat with the US-China deal.

The actor Leonardo DiCaprio was one of a number of people to address the United Nations Climate Summit yesterday, urging them to take action to address "the greatest challenge of our existence on this planet."

Yesterday was day two of the dynamic and energised protests against climate change in New York which saw several thousand activists take part in “Flood Wall Street.”

400,000 in New York. 40,000 in London. 30,000 in Melborne. 25,000 in Paris. Thousands others in some 2,700 events across the globe in over 150 countries.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take part in what the organisers are promising to be the largest climate march ever in New York.