Conference of Parties 15, Day 7

Week two at COP saw the arrival of even more representatives from civil society. The UNFCCC had accredited 34,000 people, a large proportion of whom were trying to register on Monday. The UNFCCC did not have the resources or organizational infrastructure to accommodate such a large number of people. (Not to mention that that Bella Center has a max capacity of 15,000). Needless to say, this turned into a logistical nightmare.

We were lucky that we had registered the previous week. Though we had to wait in the cold for a bit in order to go through security, it was nothing compared to those who were registering. People were in line, outside in the cold, for hours. Some people I spoke to gave up after 4 hours, others stuck it out longer. The freezing temperatures are not small thing. Week two we received a good deal of snow in Copenhagen.

We found out this week that in order to deal with the unprecedented number of accredited members of civil society that a system of secondary badges would be instituted for the rest of the week. Each NGO received a fixed number of passes for Tuesday and Wednesday, about 1/4 of their total delegation. Civil society was outraged that the UNFCCC was restricting the voices of NGOs and the public. Why would the UN accredit over twice the number of people that the conference center could accommodate? As Ministers and Heads of States are expected to arrive mid-week, Thursday and Friday will be restricted even further for the high-level segment of COP. Possible numbers of total NGO secondary passes for Thursday and Friday have ranged from 500, 300, 90, to zero. Such a limit has never been imposed on the presence of civil society in the negotiations--all are out-raged and concerned.

Monday morning I sat in on a briefing with Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC. It was interesting to see Dr. Pachauri speak in such a small setting but nothing groundbreaking was shared in the briefing. I left the Bella Center in the afternoon to venture into the cold/snow. The Alliance to Save Energy hosted an event "From Paradox to Paradigm: The Role of Energy Efficiency in Creating Low-Carbon Economies." The event featured businessmen and environment specialists from several organizations and companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. Speakers included MEPs, CEOs, and Energy/Environment Directors from Rockwool International, Siemens, Honeywell, Schneider Electric Denmark, and Google...not to mention, one of my bosses at the U.S. Green Building Council. It was very interesting to hear how companies are beginning to see energy efficiency as a business opportunity. A major component in addressing climate change is the development of a green economy, in which energy efficiency and green buildings play a huge role.

After the event, I caught up with two of my bosses from USGBC and headed back to the Bella Center. COP President Connie Hedegaard gave a briefing to civil society about the state of negotiations. However, eager to resume the COP, the briefing was cut short. Following some work with the CAN mitigation group, I sat in the KP contact group on numbers until I gave up for the night around 10:30 PM.