Day 5: Survival of the fittest
I’m tempted to have a t-shirt printed saying “I survived CoP15—week one”. But there are two problems with this: a) it might be a bit premature (technically, this weekend still constitutes the first week, and tomorrow’s jam-packed with stuff happening, including a possible interview with Wangari Maathai) and b) not many people will know what CoP15 even means, so the boast will fall a bit flat!
It’s been a pretty harrowing week. Trying to keep up with the daily torrent of press briefings, press conferences, side events and peripheral stuff—and then still find time to write up copy in between the dashing about! I have a whole new respect for the veteran CoP-sters who have been through this many times. CoP, by the by, stands for Conference of Parties which is a technical term for the annual gathering of these climate negotiators under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In truth, it was a bit of a slow news week because most of what happens in the first half of the two-week long event is bureaucrats picking over the nitty-gritty of the draft text that might be signed into formal law at the end of next week.
Main issues: much deeper emissions cuts from the rich world with a concomitant promise from big emerging economies to slow their growth. Then there needs to be transfer of money and technology from the global north to the global south to help vulnerable countries and communities to a) survive a harsher climate and b) develop their economies along a low-carbon, green pathway. Oh, and there needs to be a and 2050. And there’s still no real money on general agreement to work cooperatively in future.
But there’s still something of a stalemate—even though the developing world has come with big pledges, the rich countries are still only promising to take responsibility for cutting back on 19% of the total emissions reductions required between now the table from the rich countries.
Country’s ministers arrive this weekend and will ratchet up negotiations a bit next week, before the heads of state arrive later next week when the hard bargaining really happens.
So—to boast that I survived a slow news week at CoP15 isn’t much of a boast at all. Let’s talk again this time next Friday, to see if I’m still so full of myself.
Over and out, fellow climate watchers, and here’s to a gentle and dream-free night’s sleep ahead of another busy day tomorrow.
Leonie Joubert is a science writer, reporting for Independent Newspapers from the United Nations climate negotiations taking place Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December. This is her blog-on-the-side.