COP15 – First blog post from Copenhagen

Cross-posted from Sustainable Futures

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the convening body of the Copenhagen climate talks. This is the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (meaning countries), so it is called COP15. Right now, there is so much attention focused on these talks that the terms Copenhagen and COP15 are used interchangeably. The actual governmental meeting is COP15 but there are numerous other conferences, events, and gatherings in the city during these 2 weeks.

My trip began appropriately by reading an in-flight publication distributed by COP15. Copenhagen had its first frost-free November in history. There was a wealth of green and climate related advertising in airport. Verizon had an ad featuring sustainability efforts; I have not seen this ad run in US. Church bells ringing 350 times Sunday afternoon roused me from a post-flight recovery nap. Why 350? That is the atmospheric concentration of CO2 (measured in parts per million) beyond which we risk irreversible change. We are already at 378 ppm and rising sharply, so the 350 movement really has a lot to offer.

There were no hotels available when I booked my trip, so I am participating in home stay organized by New Life Copenhagen. My host, Jorgen, is a nurse at the hospital and I am staying in his spare bedroom. He has been very generous, down to loaning me a complete set of clothing until my suitcase arrives. Having a local host adds much color to the trip as compared to staying at a hotel.

Bella Center, the COP15 venue, was sized to house approximately 10% more people than last year’s meeting in Poznan Poland, but instead got 3 times the response. There are 15,000 people like myself who received credentials from one of the 900 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are officially accredited by the UN. Official delegates, media, staff and security bring the total to 30,000, but the Bella Center only holds 15,000 people! I just learned that NGOs will be limited to 7,000 people Tuesday and Wed., 1000 on Thursday and only 90 on the final day, presumably because of increased security for all the heads of state that day.

This morning I waited 3 hours in freezing cold at Bella Center to queue up for credentials. The long line was peaceful and friendly, despite the bitter wind, and populated with diverse assortment of interesting people. I spoke with an Australian who is leading the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute in Paris, an independent consultant for the Dutch government who works with Eastern European governments to develop climate action plans, and a representative from the mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland representing local elected officials.

The entire city is alive with banners, slogans, flyers and ads promoting the need to take aggressive action on climate change and urgent pleas to “Seal the Deal”. 100 Places to Remember Before they Disappear had an outdoor display of high-resolution photos from one hundred different places around the world in risk of disappearing or seriously threatened by climate change.

Tomorrow I am attending a panel about environmental strategies at HSBC, HP, and others, then a tour by boat of a large, off-shore wind farm. My suitecase has now arrived so I have clean clothes and can start taking pictures. I hope to post again Wednesday on my blog as my schedule and internet access allows.