9 December 2009
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/dec/09/agenda-day-three
Day three of the UN's climate change conference in Copenhagen and on the agenda are a mere 250 meetings, press conferences, briefings, and side events in the Bella centre. Several hundred other events are taking place on the fringe, and in hotels and meeting halls around town where business groups, industrialists, scientists, lawyers and carbon market groups are meeting.
Universal Declaration of Mother Earth
The most radical meeting of the day could be the Bolivian government's attempt to put a "Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights" into the final agreement of world leaders. This is deadly serious stuff with enormous legal connotations: already Ecuador has enshrined the rights of nature in its constitution, and "Mother Earth" rights would extend rights to all living entities in all countries.
Day three rumour mill
Wild unsubstantiated rumours of the day already flying around:
1. Connie Hedegaard, the Danish climate and energy minister, will allegedly "resign" in the next 48 hours to allow the Danish prime minister to take over the top spot for the high-level talks. "Connie is a little too radical and just not senior enough, and the PM hates her," says one source.
2. Mega bust-ups in the African group. One delegate had to be physically restrained from attacking another.
3. At least one group of countries may walk out on Friday, tipping the talks into official crisis mode.
Put your hands up for Lumumba Di-Aping
Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chair of the G77 group of developing countries, is acquiring cult-level popularity. After his speech yesterday to African delegates where he called a 2C rise in temperature a "suicide pact" for Africa, African groups started chanting, "one degree, one Africa". This follows the catchy Maldives' line: "1.5 to stay alive".
Introducing ... 'aidwash'
Yvo de Boer, the UN environment chief, has coined a new word that seems destined, ike "greenwash", to enter the environmental lexicon. He dubbed the growing practice by countries to recycle existing aid commitments as "new" finance as "aidwash". Which nations could he be thinking of? Britain, after all, has often pledged £800m. Perhaps it was France, which announced yesterday a €600m pledge for long-term aid.
Fossil award
Every evening the 400-odd NGOs at the Bella centre vote on the worst delegation of the day. Their latest "fossil" award goes to Ukraine, for having the single worst carbon emissions reduction rate in the world. Its pledge to cut emissions by 20% on 1990 levels sounds pretty good - until you know it actually means a 75% increase on current levels.
