Latest update: 21/12/2009

- Copenhagen climate summit

Copenhagen : deal or no deal?

Copenhagen fails to find any common ground on how to tackle climate change, a final draft decision taken into consideration by the UN leaves many delegates cold. ENVIRONMENT meets a variety of the characters who took part in the talks.

ENVIRONMENT

US President Barack Obama called it an unprecedented agreement between nations, but the final draft of the UN Copenhagen summit has sparked a fury of outrage among environmentalists and developing nations. It does not contain a target figure for emissions reductions, nor does it create an international body that will ensure commitments are respected. All it does state is that money will be provided to developing nations to help them adapt to climate change, though how much money comes from each country and for which project has yet to be defined.

“Our future is not for sale I regret to inform you that Tuvalu can not accept this document,” said Ian Fry, delegate for the island state of Tuvalu.

The two page text, taken into consideration was a finale that fell far short of what many participants were hoping for. Lobbyist Remy Gruet, a lobbyist for the European Wind Energy Agency was pushing for tough targets to limit carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to boost his business; activists that had come from across the globe feel let down, with Greenpeace calling the city a climate crime scene.

For some sceptics however the summit was always more about politics than it was science. Henrik Svensmark of the Danish National Space Centre, believes that current global warming is not necessarily man-made. Rather, he says, the sun’s activity is to blame. Cosmic rays travels are controlled by the magnetic activity around the sun, high activity blocks the cosmic rays and thus prevents the cloud formation, which keep the planet cool.…

Either way the effects of climate change are already being felt in many corners of the planet and a number of climate refugees have also come to Copenhagen to present their stories and tell the world how global warming has already destroyed their lives.

Mairead Dundas

Presenter

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Comments

Protesters have not been acting violently

by Anonyme - 22/01/2010 - 23:37

Your comment is totally wrong - all protesters were peaceful, not just these guys from munich. Also it was much more than 200 people who were arrested.
Not only that we don´t have any democracy on the global level (the main reason why the summit failed), democracy in denmark is at danger too. Civil rights in denmark don´t seem to exist.

I was there and we were kept away from legal demonstrations - they took us out of the bus to search us and send the bus away. Wherever we went they stoped trains/busses. In the end we walked to the demonstration...and I am not a black block guy. I am totally against violence!!!

All the violence came from the police. Please reconsider your words.

This video shows how danish police acts (it is not about COP15, but it gives a clear picture): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUP-SWtbI0

Also this story should make you think:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/releases/peaceful-greenpea...

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