Major Tom to Ground Control?
And there we stood…
…at least 20 WWF experts, looking at a flip chart, drawing boxes and arrows with a red pen.
The WWF office in the Bella Center was packed, as usual for the evening debrief, and the team was moving closer together, because the acoustics are so bad, and the noise from the surrounding cubicles makes it hard to hear things inside.
Many people were talking at the same time, everybody with a different interpretation.
* Was the KP (Post-2012 negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol) plenary already closed?
* Had the Presidency reported on the outcome of the consultations?
* Would the plenary be followed by a contact group? How would that relate to the informal ministerial? Was the meeting at 10pm perhaps an LCA plenary?
* Or could it be the LCA (Post-2012 negotiations under the Convention) ministerial instead?
* Had anyone heard about a friends of the chair meeting?
It was all rather confusing, but in the end we figured it out.
It says something about the complexity of these negotiations that a group of experienced professionals inside the Bella Center finds it hard to understand what’s really happening.
How are the people outside the Bella Center bubble supposed to follow and understand the developments, if even the experts inside struggle?
The people outside are those most affected by any outcome. Shouldn’t they know exactly what’s going on?
The NGO community does its best to crack the issues and break down the details of the debate for public consumption. Media is a partner in this effort, but the journalists also have a hard time finding their way through the jargon and technicalities.
Today things got particularly complicated, as talks at the negotiator level and talks at the ministerial level continued on parallel tracks.
It’s good that negotiations continued, after they were suspended and delayed during previous days. However, things evolved far too slowly, and progress on substance was still largely prevented by procedural discussions.
The moment has arrived where negotiators have to hand over their texts to ministers, and while some working groups are still drafting and editing, one after another is now getting closed.
The handover from negotiators to ministers was marked by the opening ceremony of the high level segment. “Compromise” was a word that featured prominently in the speeches by UNFCCC chief Yvo de Boer, COP President Connie Hedegaard, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and UN General Secretary Ban-ki Moon.
It’s quite a nice word, but hasn’t been a popular concept in the negotiations so far. As a result of the slow process and unending focus on procedure, the ministers are now faced with a challenging set of documents. All the options are more or less still on the table, which is no longer helpful.
Now is the time to choose one option and not the other.
We know the solutions we need, but the texts are complex and polluted with [square brackets] that keep controversial words and numbers “in custody” on which parties have been unable to agree.
We want ministers to pick the big numbers, delete the small numbers and add strong numbers where the texts still have gaps.
But will they?
That is an increasingly tricky question, and the complex process doesn’t make it easier to find the answer.
A lot is happening behind the scenes, in all these formal and informal formats, in a whole range of closed or open circles. The WWF team in Copenhagen is working hard to keep track of the latest intelligence, to influence the substance and the process of the negotiations, and to further increase the pressure on governments. However, restrictions in access to the Bella Center are making our work difficult.
Due to higher security levels there is already limited access for NGOs, only about 1/3 of our initial delegation has been inside the Bella Center today, and it will be a similar situation tomorrow.
A total of 7000 NGO representatives are currently allowed in, and when the Heads of States arrive on Thursday, total access will be reduced further to only 1000 individuals from NGOs.
On Friday it looks even more difficult.
Current information is that only about a 100 civil society representatives will have access, and even the media are facing serious restrictions and limitations. Many participants arriving in Copenhagen for the 2nd week couldn’t pick up their badges on Monday and Tuesday.
Hundreds were kept waiting in the cold outside the Bella Center, chanting “Open up the Bella Center” or “Let us in, let us in!”.
The Guardian columnist Fred Pearce, who wrote the Copenhagen Pocket Guide for WWF, was one of the would-be delegates freezing out there. He said on his blog: “I’ve seen nothing like it. We were quiet and peaceful today. But that could change!”
That could change indeed, as the desired treaty is a treaty for the people – a treaty that people need so urgently, from a negotiation they should be allowed to observe.
Frustration is growing, as it looks like the conference will effectively exclude the public and build a perfect stage for a greenwash, where governments could sell a weak agreement as a major success.
Even if most of the WWF campaigners will be working outside over the remaining days, we will fight for a strong deal until the end, and against a greenwash attempt by leaders.
These leaders certainly won’t come here empty handed, but before they board their planes or trains to Denmark, they should check again if their luggage is complete. Have they packed a good load of political will, and are they bringing the dollars to save the planet?
Time is running out slowly but surely. Yet a few words can make all the difference. And saying them doesn’t take long.
We have at least 3 full days left.
Yesterday it was snowing in Copenhagen.
True, Christmas is coming closer.
So will the world get the best Christmas present it could ever ask for?
A fair, ambitious and binding climate deal?
We have written it onto our wish list a long time ago. And only the real thing will do…
Kim Carstensen, head of WWF delegation in Copenhagen