“It has become clear that the Danish presidency is advancing developed-country interests at the expense of the balance of obligations between developed and developing countries. According to BBC news, “the mistake they are making now has reached levels that cannot be tolerated from a president who is supposed to be acting and shepherding the process on behalf of all parties.”
I pass through the area where Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti is standing with the rest of his team and am greeted by one of his advisors. According to a Thai NGOs activists, he is also walking out and supporting the African group’s position.
This is supposed to be my last bit to track the Thai negotiating team from within. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to get the second badge. I speak with Yuyun Greenpeace’s Southeast Asian political team, and he smiles, “I am more than happy not to get the second badge, I want to get out of here!!!”
“Hopenhagen” is among hundreds of official COP15 cultural events, including indoor and outdoor exhibitions, designs, crafts, architectures, galleries, art projects, films, songs, and many more, which can be found at http://www.cop15culture.com.
At one point, after the global day of climate action on Saturday, December 12, 2009, which has gone down in Danish history as the largest peaceful demonstration, I am wondering how COP15 and these related events will have the greatest political, social, and cultural impact on people here in Denmark.
Ironically, I can return to that question when, while looking at a “Hopenhagen” advertisement poster at a Coca Cola-sponsored bus stop, the letter “S” was written down and read “Shopenhagen”!!! Another one, sponsored by Siemens, had a short sentence that said, “Our climate, not your business!”
“I got on the COP15 bus at midnight from Bella Center to my place and heard the bus driver complain about how bad it was because troublemakers from all over the world were here!!!!” “So I look at myself, oh well, I am one of them,” Wanun Permpiboon, who was also on the bus and has been assisting the Thai negotiating team on adaptation text with G77 parties, said.
After the UNFCCC restricted NGOs and civil society participants from entering the Bella Center, “Hopenhagen” became “Flopenhagen.” While my roommates, one from Kenya and another from Kiribati, are resting on their beds, frustrated because they were unable to enter the meeting, I see myself running around at Klima Forum-the People Summit, catching up with NGOs colleagues.
The big idea of a Copenhagen treaty (based on the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol) to replace the Kyoto treaty is already in jeopardy, as the Danish Prime Minister ruled it out even before the conference began. Even climate celebrities, such as former Vice President Al Gore, were speaking of a watered-down climate deal – NOT WHAT THE WORLD WANTS AND NEEDS. “…At Copenhagen, we need to have a binding political agreement that the major countries – both developed and developing – sign on to,” he said in an interview with the Danish newspaper Politiken.
If it is true that world leaders agree that a legally binding climate agreement appears to be out of reach this year in Copenhagen, Al Gore is no better than other politicians who seek the path of least resistance rather than what science and people demand. His message in Copenhagen was truly revolting.
My Thai colleague Topsi and I are also delighted to meet Sven Teske, the legendary leader of Greenpeace’s [e]nergy revolution. We ask him to stop by the Arctic Sunrise for a hot meal to keep the cold Copenhagen winter at bay – spicy Thai noodles – and a couple of cheap beers arranged by a Thai volunteer and the crew on board.
“I want to remove the bracket from “E” in our next energy revolution report,” Sven explained. “I believe our European Renewable Energy Council-EREC partners will agree.”
“Do you have anything to say about the ongoing negotiations inside Bella Center?” I inquire.
Sven informs me that the next mission on the energy revolution will be to create a 350 ppm scenario (keep global temperature 1.5 degree limit). “Then that’s all I need.”
We exit the subway at Chistianhavn Station and walk across the bridge toward the Arctic Sunrise. We flop in there because she is our true “Hopenhagen.”
TARAGRAPHIES 