Spotlight

Denmark has already begun
preparations for the UNFCCC
Conference 2009 (COP-15)
which will be held in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen 2009 COP will be a political thriller
says Danish environment minister

The lead up to the 2009 UNFCCC climate conference in Copenhagen (COP 15), where a new global agreement on greenhouse emissions will be forged, will be a political thriller on an international scale, with the ending not known until the very last minute, according to the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard.

On a new website launched to keep stakeholders informed about progress towards the Copenhagen talks (http://www.cop15.dk/en/) the minister says: 'As the host for the 2009 climate conference, it has given Denmark something extra to mull over. The road to Copenhagen is no freeway. It is a winding path strewn with stones, and if one closely studies the roadmap from Bali, it can be seen that some of the stones are boulder-sized.'

The minister adds that 'it took two and a half days of virtually non-stop negotiations (at Bali) – interrupted only by the need for a few hours' sleep – before a text from the presidency and the climate secretariat stood the test. Diplomatic craft was stretched to the limit, and if not blood, then plenty of sweat and tears flowed in the climate conference's plenary hall, before the text was finalized’.

The minister praised the role of the IPCCC and the EU in the Bali negotiations noting that: ‘Political pressure has come in part from EU efforts. The EU countries can be proud of the efforts made during the Bali conference. They consistently maintained the pressure and took the lead in achieving as ambitious a text as possible out of the meeting. And in the last vital days, it was a small, close-knit band of EU ministers who strove to secure the level of the agreement.'

The COP 15 website (http://www.cop15.dk/en/) contains the full text of Ms Hedegaard’s article as well as press releases, articles, FAQs, a calendar listing international climate meetings taking place in the run-up to COP15, and general background information on climate change negotiations and politics.