Archive by date | December 2009

Copenhagen: ‘They are heading into that zombie state’

It’s crunch time here, and everything appears to be moving along as expected, which is to say everything is behind schedule. The main negotiating bodies finished their work this morning, which is to say that they got as far as they can go. The Danes were expected to drop new text proposing some compromise language this afternoon, which, if accepted, in theory, the ministers would then iron into shape before the leaders take over tomorrow. But there are procedural delays, and the Danes have hit the pause button to try to design a new framework for breaking up the text into pieces rather than negotiating everything in the main plenary, where 193 countries squabbling over every detail could send things into chaos.  Read more

Video: Chaos in Copenhagen

Here’s a short video from Nature on the organizational disaster that left hundreds of registered delegates excluded from the UN negotiations on climate change. As talks on a climate deal heated up inside the Bella Centre in Copenhagen, problems of overcapacity left many stranded for hours outside in the cold as they awaited a decision from UN organizers.  Read more

Copenhagen: Moving forward, destination unknown

Something resembling order has been restored to the Bella Center in Copenhagen. The climate talks are back on track after getting derailed, for a second time, by protests from poor countries who are angry about a lack of commitment from industrialized nations as well as lack of clarity about the ultimate architecture of a possible agreement (see BBC , Telegraph).  Read more