| Weighing up the outcomes - COP15 - or FLOP15? |  Print |
Text by Claire Clausen, The Copenhagen Post, used with permission
There have been no shortages of ironic descriptions of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference - COP15 in December 09. Introducing the guest speaker, President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark, Mariano A. Davies asked if we now say “Hopenhagen” or simply “Brokenhagen”. Smart and humorous as his remark was, most could sense - and indeed probably as Danish dwellers - actually feel disappointment and the flat emptiness of expectations unmet. So all were keen to hear a balanced description of what actually happened at the conference - what went well and what went less well. In her position as head of the European Environment Agency, Prof. Jacqueline McGlade was at the centre of the discussions, perfectly placed to report on outcomes.
 ‘Was it a disaster?’ she asked, rhetorically, and continued that much in fact went well. ‘There is an Accord, where many nations have agreed to take responsibility for climate change. It is not legally binding but it has the weight of stated political intention,’ she said. ‘Funding is in place with fast track and long term amounts agreed and on the table. Monitoring and verification schemes are agreed and the US and China are working on developing a system whereby nations can agree to monitor, but are under no obligation to return figures. Europe will lead on this monitoring methodology and is continuing to develop relevant technical instruments.’
What went wrong had a lot to do with organisation and presentation, not least by media. Jacqueline was embarrassed that it was the BBC, who reported mid week that Connie Hedegaard had resigned as Chair of Conference, without explaining clearly that protocol required that once 120 Heads of State arrived, the Danish Head of State had to take the chair. On the final day, the timing went off track. After the major nations had held their own exclusive meetings, only one hour was left for all the other nations to discuss the document and come to a consensus. It was simply not sufficient time and many felt undermined and insulted by brusque, heavy-handed treatment from a Chairman under pressure. In Jacqueline’s view, the EU too, was somewhat sidelined by the lack of decisive action from the EU Presidency.
‘So what happens now?’ Jacqueline spoke of two tracks – protocol and convention. By 31 January a report of COP15 will be produced, calling for a clear statement of intent from the next meeting to be held in Bonn. It will be followed in 2 years by the Conference of Partners in Mexico – COP16.
She hopes that this time the European model of assessment will be accepted and used. Unless there are common, agreed standards on which to assess each nation’s proposals for managing climate change it is impossible to make balanced, fair evaluations. This instrument – which the EEA had produced – was regrettably not used in Copenhagen, explained the Professor ‘One of the most interesting outcomes of COP15 was that industry appears to be taking charge, taking the lead. For years NGOs have been out front with environmental awareness. Now, twenty years later, the message has been heard,’ she said. ‘There were more events and discussions all over the city organized or funded by the corporate sector than any others. It begs the question as to whether the UN, with all its massive bureaucracy is indeed the right forum to move this forward.’
Jacqueline can see an environmental future where the decision-makers will be fora such as G8, G20 and possibly even WTO. The developing nations (China, Russia, India and Brazil) with their massive consumer bases and massive industrial power may well take the lead on developing and using sustainable energy sources.
In summing up, she was proud of the role her own organisation is playing in taking the lead on developing models and instruments which can be useful in future discussions. ‘The ground swell of global awareness began at the Copenhagen gathering – the national will to make changes was publicly expressed so I am confident we will succeed,’ she smiled as she dashed off to catch a flight to yet another meeting abroad.
COP15 related documents can be found on the UNFCCC site |