Photo courtesy UNFCCC
Copenhagen, Denmark. As I write this, I am sitting in a central Copenhagen facility called the Øksnehallen. It has become a refugee camp of sorts for all of the non-governmentals now ousted from the Bella Center. Originally a side venue of the KlimaForum and a meeting ground for demonstrations among the more public action-oriented groups, it has now become a shelter, place of work and window into the negotiations for all of civil society – from universities to activist groups. The feeling here is one of family and camaraderie, with a great sense of pride in the mass gathering of nations that have united here to address this issue. Yet, as we sit and watch the plenaries on giant screens, there is also a feeling of despair.
Is any chance of a real deal now lost?
Meanwhile, inside the Bella Center, negotiations are tense and potential outcomes unclear. If you’ve read the last two posts, you’ll understand that one of the main sticking points appears to be between the U.S. and China in terms of monitoring emission reductions. The long-awaited speech from President Obama was met with mediocre reception, although he did offer a strong call to action and supplied a considerable financial incentive to come to an agreement today. But not everyone is convinced, namely China and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez, who followed President Obama and waxed philosophic on America’s role in the climate change crisis. Pointing out that Americans represent only 5% of the world’s population, but consume 25% of it’s energy, he also asserted that Latin America is in the predicament it is in today because America coerced them into buying cars and abandoning much needed railways (paraphrased). Take a look at President Obama’s speech below and decide for yourself whether this call to action will be enough to save Copenhagen from failure.
- posted by Arlo Hemphill 
