Seven things the Paris climate talks could do, and what they mean for Australia

It won't 'solve' climate change, but the Paris talks may make real gains possible. And that poses an interesting problem for Malcolm Turnbull

It will be fractious and frustrating and it won't "solve" the problem. But the Paris climate summit that starts on Monday is likely to be characterised as a success anyway.

That's because negotiators have reset what qualifies as succeeding, and not just to allow world leaders to pat themselves on the back. Counterintuitively, demanding less might, in the end, achieve more than previous ambitious meetings that ended in failure.