The "Danish Text"

Yesterday the talks were disrupted by a document known as the "Danish Text", supposedly authored by the US, Denmark, and the UK (maybe more...?). The document is a draft framework which would be super-imposed over the current UN negotiations. The text outlines a number of precepts that are fundamentally against many of the basics of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol including:

-Requiring developing nations to make emissions reductions (as of right now developing nations can make optional reductions, only developed countries must meet requirements)
-Allowing rich nations double the per-capita emissions of poor nations
-Side-lining the UN's role in the negotiations
-Taking management of finance out of UN hands and putting it in the hands of the World Bank (a bad, bad move.)

The text also mentions $10 billion in financing - which means that developed nations must commit to providing $10 billion annually (between them) to developing nations to help the develop in a low emissions manner as well as for adaptation and insurance efforts.

The document OUTRAGED delegates of developing nations - especially Africa, take a look at the video below. I'm not sure what will happen with the Danish Text. Supposedly it will be presented to world leaders (or rich leaders) sometime next week. I'm hoping that the early leakage of the document will destroy its viability. If implemented the Danish text would be a huge, huge step backwards. The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol were written in a way that attempts to account for historical inequities in emissions and differing capacities for mitigation and adaptation. Rich and developed nations have a much higher capacity and they have emitted far, far more GHGs over the decades than developing and poorer nations. Any global effort to address climate change that intends to be effective and fair must take these facts into account.

Firs Day of COP

Yesterday:

I arrived at the Bella Center at 11:45am as registration for NGOs did not begin until 12pm. The line was incredibly long and amazingly diverse. It took four hours from getting in the queue till I finally entered the conference proper.

While in line I met a woman who works with the Sea Change foundation - a foundation that funds the Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), which was one of the funders of the Avaaz Action Factory I spent three months working with in Berlin. (Websites: GCCA, http://gc-ca.org/ ; Action Factory, http://www.actionfactories.org/ ).

I also met a man who'd traveled from inner Brazil to represent indigenous people of the Amazon. He had on a ski jacket and gloves - but his legs were bare and his gnarly feet were in hand made sandals.

I met two Berliners who run an organization that works on climate an energy initiatives. The "Super Smart Grid" and climate through music - producing low-carbon music show and using the music industry as a platform to reach people about climate change issues.

I met a reporter from New York who works with an anarchist newspaper and a group of international students. There some folks from the UC system and a woman from Singapore making a documentary about deforestation and climate change, another woman from the Andes of Peru, dressed in traditional garb.

When I finally made it inside I spent some time getting my bearings and exploring the whole center. I had many a happy reunion with climate activists and delegates that I haven't seen in months. The center is huge and confusing, with two main plenary floors, warehouses of booths, cafes, kitchens, sitting areas, computer areas, printing areas, skype areas, phone sections, presentation rooms, meeting rooms, delegate offices, massive installations, resting areas for different sections of the global community . . . overwhelming.

I spent some time figuring out how to deliver our US youth postcards to the US delegation. I spoke to security about placing materials on delegation tables of the plenary floor - a no go. I went to the US outreach center and spoke to three different people and was finally directed to the delegation office. Found the office - after getting lost in C6 or C5 or whatever they are: space agey temporary buildings to house the offices of all the delegations. I knocked on the door and spoke with an intern who told me how to ask for interview with the delegation - but didn't know about deliveries. Darlene (of the UCSC delegation) will try later today to take some postcards directly to the office.

I listened in on the Plenary for a while and then went to see the Fossil of the Day awards. I'll explain both of these and some of the politics of the negotiations in the next post.

In the evening the Copenhagen Mayor hosted a reception for COP-15 attendees at the town hall. Finger food and free wine - always a good idea. I mingled with other youth, NGO, and national delegates. Withing two hours everyone was feeling a little silly - and I learned some interesting things. . . . which I will have to post later as my battery is about to die.

XOX-j

Meet Eva Stevens from UCSC

From UCSC delegate Eva Stevens:

My name is Eva Stevens, and I am one of the students representing the University of California Santa Cruz Youth Climate Delegation at the international climate conference in Copenhagen. I am a fourth year Environmental Studies and Art major at UCSC. I have been working with the student sustainability movement on campus since my freshmen year first teaching a class on climate change and going on to starting a student directed seminar on the community and culture of the bicycle and sustainable transportation. I have worked with the Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) for most of my college career and am now the Chancellor's Undergraduate Intern for ESLP. ESLP is a program that puts on a student taught student organized class, and was brought to our campus by the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC). The CSSC is who accredited our delegation as well as student from all over California. I decided to go to Copenhagen with the UCSC Youth Climate Delegation because I see the need for youth to be represented at this monumental event to push the leaders of our country and our world to take aggressive action to combat climate change. I also see the importance in gaining understanding of how the process of international negotiations work and bringing this information as well as the outcomes of the conference and the next steps that youth can take to fight for climate action back to my university and community. When in Copenhagen I will be working on media and assisting with researching policy positions. I also plan to incorporate what we do at COP-15 and the outcomes of the conference into one of the ESLP lectures to inform students on what is happening with climate policy on a global scale and to further inspire climate action on our campus. I feel very privileged to be representing UCSC and American youth at COP-15 in Copenhagen and would like to thank all the people within the university as well as my family and friends who help make this trip possible for me.

Tomorrow: COP-15

Day One in Copenhagen.

I landed yesterday around 2pm Copenhagen time after 16 hours in transit. And it's freezing. I'm typing in long-johns and a down jacket - while one of my hosts is in a t-shirt. He says, "Cold? Welcome to Denmark." I'm staying at the home of Jon (pronounced Yon), Markus, and Kirsten - three young Danish students kind enough to host a California COP-15 attendee. Jon will be working at COP-15 as a technician. He told me that, including the employees, COP-15 will be about 33,000 people. He guesses that half as many as that will be un-accredited but in Copenhagen. Meaning that Copenhagen has to deal with an influx of about 50,000 people for two weeks. Crazy.

Today is (and yesterday was) COY, the Conference of Youth. (http://youthclimate.org/projects-and-actions/coy/). The goal of COY is "To build trust and solidarity among youth who will be attending COP15, and to share ideas, thoughts, successes and skills with each other. To build a truly global movement to stop the climate crisis." I'll try and make it there this afternoon. There's a number of logistical things I'd like to work out before the conference proper begins. I have feeling things will get hectic starting tomorrow.

On the flight over I met a number of other people who will be representing NGOs at Copenhagen. I hope to connect with some of them here and see how the UCSC delegation in particular and the CA delegation at large can coordinate with them.