Arrival - Polish queues and Polish Qs (COP 14)

01 Dec 2008 – Geoff Lye

On the flight over, I read my last blog from Bali: it was surprisingly optimistic. By chance, I had arrived at the airport for my homeward flight at the same time – and subsequently flew on the same plane – as Yvo de Boer, the man charged with taking the UNFCCC negotiations for a post Kyoto protocol to a successful conclusion by COP 15 in Copenhagen. His view at the airport was that we (he?) had succeeded in ‘getting the show on the road’; it was clear to him that the framework should be agreed by the end of this COP in Poznan, but that the detailed numbers would have to await a new US President. And here we are: a new President almost in office and the 14th Conference of the Parties in its opening days.

I was struck at the airport by my intolerance of queuing, especially so when I realised that officials were putting families with children straight to the front of my queue (nothing against families, just that nagging feeling that I chose the wrong queue again). I found further queues for security and registration on arrival at the conference hall in Poznan and began to feel that this must simply be part of the Polish legacy. My ignorance and arrogance were confirmed when I went into a local Tesco (yes, just behind McDonalds) and breezed through the checkout faster than I could pack my bag. Apologies, Poland.

Queues sorted, there remain questions on my mind as COP 14 begins:

• How will the issues of respective and equitable obligations of developed and developing economies play out?
• Will the issues of REDD (including avoided de-forestation and re-forestation in the post Kyoto treaty) show real advance or get bogged down in further complexity?
• Will the polarised views on CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage) be reconciled?
• How will the US delegation behave – ‘lame ducks’ or ‘last chance saloon’?