Hmm, sounds good.  The entire world is holding its collective breath right now.

[...] “After months of talk, and two weeks of negotiations, I believe that the pieces of that accord are now clear.”

Months? What happened to the past two decades? What about Kyoto?

[...] “I’m confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.

[...] “America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion in 2012.”

Same old, same old.  Too little, too late.

“We know the fault lines because we’ve been imprisoned by them for years.”

What? Who’s been imprisoned?

“But here is the bottom line: we can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, and continue to refine it and build upon its foundation. [...] Or we can again choose delay, falling back into the same divisions that have stood in the way of action for years. And we will be back having the same stale arguments month after month, year after year – all while the danger of climate change grows until it is irreversible.

There is no time to waste. America has made our choice. We have charted our course, we have made our commitments, and we will do what we say. Now, I believe that it’s time for the nations and people of the world to come together behind a common purpose.”

My way or the highway.

The speech we’ve been hoping for? Not quite. Full text here.

The Bella Center is a ghost town, only a shadow of its former self mere days ago. The halls are empty and small clusters of people are gathered around flat screen monitors watching US President Obama deliver the much-awaited speech.  Access to today’s plenary was severely restricted.  No press were allowed. Heads of State and select VIPs were given silver pins with which to gain entry. The rest of the huddled masses huddled outside and watched.

NGO and civil society delegations have all but been eliminated. Many have packed up and gone home, shaking their heads. Their absence is palpable.

Outside the entrance, near the Bella Center Metro, a few maintain their constant vigil.  A message has been left for all who enter.

The march kicked off out front of a Metro station near the Bella Center

It snowed during the entire march. Mother nature curries no favors for climate justice.

Police escorted the legal march. Minor skirmishes erupted periodically when police vans drove too closely to marchers. Plainclothes officers waited in alleys and grabbed some organizers in the middle of the march.

Champagne-swilling satirists "Lobbyists for Profitable Climate Solutions" told the protestors to go home and let the Bella Center delegates handle everything.

This is a mobile broadcasting setup - via bikecart!

]]> http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/shut-out-delegates-march-on-bella/feed/ 0 copenblog startofmarch snowglobe changeyourmind lobbyists bikecartbroadcasting http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/danish-cops-crack-down-on-protestors/ http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/danish-cops-crack-down-on-protestors/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:30:52 +0000 copenblog http://copenblog.wordpress.com/?p=64 ]]> Here it comes…

We know the drill by now. Head honchos arrive tomorrow. Checklist for today:

• Polish up the Bella Center (vaccum, mop, install more metal detectors)
• Remove untidy protest contingent
• Move in on the groups that police have been surveilling and detain their organizers
• Seize any likely protest equipment
• Arrest & detain now, deal with consequences later

All of these things happened today. Here’s my story on Free Speech Radio News tonight. (lots of other great stuff there, too!)

——————————————————————————————–

And the Angry Mermaid goes to…. (drumroll please)

MONSANTO

Naomi Klein announces today's big winner

“The Angry Mermaid Award has been set up to recognise the perverse role of corporate lobbyists, and highlight those business groups and companies that have made the greatest effort to sabotage the climate talks, and other climate measures, while promoting, often profitable, false solutions.”

Never shy about missing a great contribution to humanity business opportunity, Monsanto has boldly offered their genetically-modified products as an answer to climate change. They are proposing that GMO soy plantations be listed in the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism so that they may receive carbon credits.

The audacity of hope is alive here in Hopenhagen.

Activists are looking for a "real deal"

African delegations have been quite strong so far. The test will be whether they can continue to negotiate as a block and prevent any members from getting bought out.

Denmark announced further melting of Arctic ice sheets

At today’s “System Change not Climate Change” rally in downtown Copenhagen, in front of the Danish Parliament.

It’s a nice riff on the “Blah Blah Blah Bang” meme that describes how many people deal with change (think back to that monosyllabic schoolteacher’s voice on the old Snoopy cartoons).  Back in October,  Jane Lubchenco, the new head of NOAA and ever the understated scientist, described it as more of a “blah blah blah I get it” reaction. Apparently, a lot of us are still in the blah blah blah phase. The latest Pew Center survey says it’s getting worse.

Good thing someone fixed this sign

They would like to draw attention to the role that Denmark’s industrial agriculture sector has played in contributing to climate change:

“This type of intensive production is based on imported soy which is transported thousands of miles, grown on lands in the south which have been cleared of forests and their inhabitants, which use huge amounts of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides – (and) cannot be green-washed. It is part of a transnational system of production and distribution which has used up the world’s resources at an unprecedented rate in order to create huge wealth for a tiny minority.”

They will be demonstrating in front of the government building (“Axelborg”) which houses the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. Address:  Axeltorv 3, 1609 København V, Denmark.

Yes, this is a large pig (on wheels) running away

]]> http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/farmers-to-protest-big-pigs/feed/ 0 copenblog pigbutt http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/the-danish-text/ http://copenblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/the-danish-text/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:54:37 +0000 copenblog http://copenblog.wordpress.com/?p=8 ]]> The Guardian newspaper broke the story about secret climate negotiations between the US, UK, and Denmark. Read it here.