Yet More Discussions Behind Closed Doors in Copenhagen; Fed Up African Delegates Force Suspension

by: Erich Pica

Mon Dec 14, 2009 at 16:32

This post is part of Friends of the Earth sponsoring Open Left. Please check out the Friends of the Earth website here.

Along with Natasha, who is also in Copenhagen, Friends of the Earth will be blogging live from the Climate Change conference on Open Left over the next two weeks--make sure to keep coming back for more first-hand reporting!--Chris

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Over the weekend, a new round of secretive climate negotiations started in Copenhagen -- the "Greenland Dialog." These talks, held outside of the Bella Center, which is the official UN meeting place here, were not open to everyone but were limited to approximately 40 to 50 countries picked via an unclear process. They mostly represented rich country interests.

The whole point of the UN process is to give all parties to the UNFCCC a voice, and these side negotiations, instead of moving discussions forward in a productive way, have stalled progress by excluding and marginalizing the perspectives and demands of developing countries.

Following the weekend's "Greenland Dialog" (similar to equally undemocratic "green room" negotiations at the World Trade Organization), today the Danish government, which is presiding over the climate conference, made a procedural move that appeared to be an attempt to kill off the Kyoto Protocol, making it easier for rich countries to avoid making needed emissions reductions.

The primary developing country negotiating bloc declined to play this game and demanded that the Kyoto Protocol be protected and its concerns be addressed before negotiations procede.

Friends of the Earth International activists participated in "flash mob" interventions (captured in the pictures above) in the Bella Center during the suspension of talks to stand in solidarity with the demands of Africa and other developing countries.

Nnimmo Bassey, chair of the Friends of the Earth international network, responded with this statement:

We support African countries' demands for Kyoto targets and mandatory emissions reductions for rich countries. We denounce the dirty negotiating tactics of rich countries which are trying to change the rules and tilt them in their own favor. Developed countries are stalling these negotiations as Africa attempts to move them forward.

You can watch Nnimmo Bassey explain why we're standing with Africa to a reporter inside the Bella Center and catch some footage of one of the "flash mobs" in action:

Sound familiar?

These secretive, behind-closed-doors-with-only-some-countries negotiating tactics also blew up the climate negotiations early last week. Then, Denmark got slammed by civil society groups and countries from the Group of 77 and China developing country negotiating bloc for drafting a secret "Danish text" that could be offered up as a "political" alternative to what's already under discussion. The Danes have historically had a strong tradition of even-handedness and multilateralism in negotiations. So much for Danish traditions.

Why we should care

Negotiating groups like Africa and the Association of Small Island States are here in Copenhagen fighting for a just and aggressive global agreement that will stabilize the climate enough to guarantee their survival -- and rich countries are playing politics with their lives.

The weak proposals in the "Danish text" leaked last week demonstrate that the ambition and fairness of the outcome is severely compromised when negotiations take place behind closed doors -- and include only a hand-picked selection of countries. It is not in the world's interest to allow these closed-door negotiations to continue.