Yes, we can! … But no, we don’t – Twist and turns at COP15

It’s over. COP15 has ended. Heads of state, ministers and delegates have left Copenhagen. I’m lying on one of the upper beds of a train compartment, heading back home and pondering on the succeedings of the last two weeks. COP15 will enter history, but I doubt it will do so for flattering causes. Many of us had anticipated this conference, hopes were high that a FAB (fair, ambitious and binding – one could say fabulous) agreement could be reached… but in the end we rather got a minimal consensus.

Twisting and turning at the Bella Center

High spirits were harshly brought back to earth in the course of the conference. At the latest when US President Barack Obama spoke on Friday evening, everyone became stone-cold sober. No significant news, no enlightening decisive steps towards real commitments. Obama brought no new impulses into the discussion and severely flawed remaining hopes. President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez accused Obama of “making a dash through the back door” and disappearing without giving clear and concise explanations – and numbers. Costa Rica’s delegation could not quite apprehend that the consensus met before in the plenary – to reach a binding agreement before COP16 in Mexico next year – was eliminated from the Copenhagen Accord. 25 countries, among them the US, Germany, India and China, agreed on a minimal consensus later that evening. To make things worse and render the whole scenario even more obscure, COP-President Lars Løkke Rasmussen was virtually chucked out of the plenary after some countries had complained about his way of conducting the conference. First Connie Hedegaard, then Lars Løkke Rasmussen… COP15 has been tough for many. It held ready clandestinely composed ’sub-agreements’ leaking out to the press, whole delegations walking out of the conferences and loads of confused and increasingly disappointed negotiators and observers. The UNFCCC even changed their header picture in the course of the negotiations, and the new one conveyed quite a clear message…

There’s not too much hope left at the Bella Center, Source: UNFCCC

Solid grounding for COP16

COP15 sometimes appeared to me been like a tug-of-war between youngsters in order to know who’s the best and strongest, without a clear consensus. The final agreement states that all parties have the right to decide on their own if (and when?) they will accept the Copenhagen Accord text – or not. The ‘good bit’ is that the accord delivers a solid grounding for later discussions. And some notable results could be achieved: the US are for the very first time pledging to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. It’s something – albeit there could be more. In this context, I’m really looking forward towards COP16 in Mexico next year. This next conference of the parties will show if our country leaders and delegates have made their homework – or if they keep on preferring to release a lot of ‘hot air’.

Katja Halbritter, MSc student at ETH Zurich

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