16/12/09
Climate Change Champion reports from Copenhagen front line
Cerith Jones, 16, from Ammanford, is currently at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in his role as a Welsh Assembly Government Climate Change Champion. Cerith, who attends Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera near Swansea, is also reporting for the BBC from the conference. In this blog he reports on the latest developments from Denmark.
"With the Copenhagen Conference in its final week, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon is calling on ministers who arrive in Copenhagen on Wednesday to "seal a deal". He says that now is our time to make a real and effective difference in terms of tackling climate change, and saving planet Earth and humankind. This seems increasingly unlikely, as tensions are causing the negotiations to be slow and cumbersome, with much of the work still to be done. Nations seem unable to reach any sort of compromise regarding the draft text which was presented by the conference's host nation, Denmark.
"Add to this the fact that the huge delays to enter the Bella Centre, where negotiations and many side events are taking place, are stopping many non-governmental delegates, and even party delegates - from national delegations - from entering. On Monday, I queued for five hours in the 1-degree cold of Copenhagen, only to be told that the machine, which issues ID passes for attendees had broken down and it was unlikely that anyone else was going to be permitted entrance to the conference.
"On Tuesday, I arrived at the Centre at 8 a.m. and queued until 2 p.m. - without any food, and with only a small amount of coffee to drink, given to us by the Danish Armed Forces. By 4 p.m. I had arrived in the conference - having been through security, accreditation and photo-taking. One thing that's struck me in my two days of queuing to enter the conference is the lack of co-ordination on the United Nations' and Denmark's part. There seems to be no order outside the Bella Centre, and plans are made up as and when the Danish Police and the co-ordinators see fit.
"Even at the accreditation stage, there was only one UN staff member issuing all non-governmental organisations with ID passes. Though the conference centre's capacity is 15,000 people, the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) has somehow managed to allow 30,000 people to register. So add all this to the already slowed proceedings, and you can see why the delegates and negotiators are having a hard time of it.
"I am glad to report, however, that the host Prime Minister, His Excellency Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told nations present on Tuesday evening while addressing Plenary that "the world is watching. The world is literally holding its breath." He told Plenary that as host Prime Minister, he didn't want to rush delegates, but that they should remember that there is a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in.
"During the same Plenary session, which is broadcast throughout the conference centre, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales called on nations to "live as part of nature, not apart from nature". Whether or not Prince Charles' call will be acted upon by the end of this conference is debatable, but the Conference President, who is also Minister for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in the Danish Government, said that "the key word for the next days must be compromise. Success is still within reach, but... I must also warn you: we can fail."
We shall see by the end of this week, whether that will be true - and whether the presence of United States President Barack Obama will affect proceedings".
