Hello everyone!

Dawn and I have been having some internet issues--I apologize for the delay!

 The first day of the conference was full of rousing speeches, smiling delegates, and hand shaking all around. I attended the opening ceremony, which, as Professor Rick Worthington had predicted, started with mostly “fluff”. It began with a video full of activist imagery—scared children running from climate change induced floods and storms, their teddy bears falling in their wake. This was followed by a song by the Danish Girls choir, calling on the world to “tread lightly” on our planet.

(click read more for the rest) 

More interesting were the speeches that followed. The Prime Minister ofDenmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, opened with a recognition of the difficult decisions that lie ahead of us in order to “address the mounting problem” ofclimate change, but urged decision makers to find common ground in their commitment to action. He called for delegations to recognize that the climate agenda is one that forms a global community that transcends traditional barriers. Hope, he said, is the starting point for all major efforts. Mr.Rasmussen was followed by Copenhagen’s Mayor, who followed up on this statement, asking all to make the city into “Hopenhagen.” (Incidentally, there are signs plastering the city with this catchphrase, a bit much in my opinion. Just because it rhymes doesn’t mean it’s clever.)

 The next speaker was Dr. Rajendra Pachauri of the IPCC, who focused on the scientific consensus supporting climate change theory, and almost immediately addressed the recent email hacking and scandal. He noted that though it may be “inconvenient to accept the reality” of climate change—which has caused the recent surge in denials, he claims—there is no longer any scientific doubt surrounding the issue.  Last was the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC (the organizing commission of the conference), Mr. de Boer, who asked us all to realize that the climate change clock has ticked down to zero.

All of this was interesting, though it made me wonder how effective these opening statements are. I applaud all four speakers for calling on all members states to contribute to a meaningful agreement, though I wonder how much these delegates really cared. The event started over an hour late, after party members ignored multiple pleas from the emcee and instead continued to chat, exchange handshakes (and hugs and kisses), and point at themselves on the big screen. Those sitting either talked with their neighbors or browsed the internet on their phones (Facebook? Twitter?). Though each of the speakers encouraged delegates to “seal the deal”, we’ll have to wait and see how much of this positive rhetoric is translated into action.

On that note, here’s a quick outline of what this sort of conference looks like (for those of you who haven’t extensively researched the UNFCCC guidelines and protocols). The conference is enormous, comprising of at least 50 or so events per day. There are two programs released on the morning of each day (and not a second before to we lowly observers). The first is a listing of the Plenary meetings, in which each United Nations member country as represented. From my limited experience, these are incredibly bureaucratic, involving many provisional agendas and “you have the floor”s and “Madame Chair”s. They are, however, where the negotiation technically takes place (ostensibly anyway…more on this later). For the first week or so, delegations will discuss individual items following a strictly designed schedule, in these meeting and other small group closed meetings. The middle of next week, Ministers will begin arriving to lend more weight to the developing agreement, which will then be further discussed when Heads of State (at least 110 now committed) get here on Wednesday or Thursday.

The other aspect of COP15 is the “side events” which are conducted by country governments and NGOs alike. They cover every imaginable topic from every social, political, and economic issue.  These are open to anyone, and all that I’ve seen have been relatively well attended. However, we all must wear color coded name badges around the conference center, and it seems that the sided events are almost exclusively attended by yellow-labeled observers. I do wonder at how separated this entire experience has so far been. There seem to be two parallel conferences, one comprised of non-profit advocacy and one involving official delegations and the target setting process. The lack of interaction that I’ve seen makes me question the efficacy of the “lobbying” groups that are here—from the conversations I’ve had, this conference is more of a networking opportunity than a chance to affect policy or international workings. There are the groups that organize chants (a bit obnoxious) and crazy costumes (trees and clocks so far) and magic shows (?) and underwater stunts (yes, inside), but this seems to be mostly performance-based…and it’s clear that while these antics gain media attention, the delegations avoid such displays.

I don’t mean to be completely cynical—on the contrary, I think there’s an incredible amount of exciting things going on here, and am so amazed I get to witness them all. I’m simply trying to figure out the dynamics of all these things, and how we with World Wide Views fit in (if at all!).

More about this all tomorrow!