WWF update on the Copehnagen climate negotiations: 16th December 2009

And there we stood, at least 20 WWF experts, looking at a flip chard,
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 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 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 negotiator level and talks at minister 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, about a third 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 hundred civil society representatives will have access, and even
the media are facing serious restrictions and limitations. Many
participants arriving in Copenhagen for the second 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, but a few words can make all the difference, and saying them
doesn’t take long. We have at least three full days left.

Today it has been snowing in Copenhagen. True, Christmas is coming closer.
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 we won’t take it
off anymore.

Kim & Christian

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Kim Carstensen
Leader, Global Climate Initiative
WWF International