Plenaries, like the corners of my mind... (COP 15)

16 Dec 2009 – Gary Kendall

As the title of this blog entry suggests, my mind may be suffering from a pun-ishing (there I go again…) few days in Copenhagen. This morning Geoff and I managed to gain entry to the Bella Center, almost certainly for the final time, though that’s not to say we won’t be in here this time tomorrow.

Up all night

The first thing I did – after running by the US Center and loading up on a free breakfast – was bump into Dr. Stephan Singer from the WWF delegation. He had just pulled an all-nighter (along with hundreds of other observers who attended the Long-Term Cooperative Action plenary from 4-7am this morning) thereby adroitly side-stepping the entry restrictions in place today! Given the supposedly strict capacity limits imposed by the organisers, he’s not quite sure how he managed to pull this off. Nevertheless, if things get really interesting today, I think I’m going to make a den in a very large plant pot this evening and hunker down for the night.

State of play

So, while we were sleeping… The negotiations really are on a knife-edge right now. The various texts that are circulating are replete with square brackets, many of them containing blanks rather than actual words or numbers. With only one day to go before most of the heavy-hitters arrive, it seems a virtual impossibility that we will come to any satisfactory conclusion before the end of this week.

I’m now sitting towards the back of the main COP/MOP plenary, having just listened to a series of national delegations bemoaning the progress on the Kyoto Protocol. Headline is: parties have been unable to reach any agreement on numbers.

Tuvalu – I have a feeling of dread that we are on the Titanic and sinking fast, but we can’t launch the life-boats because a member of the crew thinks we’re not sinking, and thinks that we need a series of consultations to decide whether we are sinking or not.

South Africa – G77+China consider that the text presented to the COP/MOP is not in a form that is able to be accepted… etc. Further consultation on these key targets, goals, levels of ambition must proceed. G77+China recommends that technical aspects of text be referred back to AWG-KP for further technical work.

China – we are resolutely opposed to prevent the KP from being destroyed

Algeria – we need to insist upon the two-track outcome in Copenhagen

Sweden – we have exhausted the technical debate, and now the decisions are political – there is ample choice for political bargaining – it’s time for ministers to come into the debate and clean up the text

Zambia – we feel more technical work is required – extension of AWG-KP is necessary – we reiterate the importance of this AWG

Senegal – text provides a good framework, but technical details still need work – Senegal agrees we need a two-track solution, and an extra day for the AWG-KP

Oman – we need consensus on the core issues of the Bali Action Plan, and the second reduction commitment period of the KP

ALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES REITERATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TWO-TRACK SOLUTION

Connie loses the plot – or does she?

Right at the end of the session, Yvo de Boer dropped what initially felt like a bombshell, but on reflection is probably just a piece of political process. He took the floor to say that he had received a letter of resignation from Connie Hedegaard, the President of COP 15. Was the pressure of the moment finally getting to the COP 15 President?

Probably not. In a related piece of process, the outgoing President gets to nominate their replacement! Hedegaard went on to nominate the Danish Prime Minister. With 110 Heads of State attending tomorrow, this seems like no more than an appropriate act of deference, so no need to hold the back pages.

I’ll admit to feeling rather confused now.

I predict a riot, I predict a riot!

And according to the BBC, protesters are going nuts outside, evidently “determined” to gain access to the Bella Center. What they plan to do once inside is anyone’s guess – the place is full of blue-shirted UN security personal with guns. Geoff has a cunning plan should it all go pear-shaped: hide!