Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
clear evidence exists that they have and will continue to press govern-
ments toward more equitable and creative solutions to climate change
(Pulver 2005; Roberts and Parks 2007). Nonetheless, because govern-
ments are accountable to the obligations made under treaties like the
Kyoto Protocol, those governments tend to restrict the extent to which
nonstate actor voices are included at the table.
While the UNFCCC has worked to keep access relatively open to
nonstate actor participation, including industry, youth, indigenous
peoples, scientists, and NGOs, in Copenhagen access to the Bella Center
became a central point of contention, particularly during the second
week of meetings. The conference facilities dictated that only around
one-third of the accredited NGOs could be in the building at one time.
As a result, lines of people running several football fi elds in length barely
moved in the cold and sometimes snowy Copenhagen winter. I personally
stood in line six hours on the second Monday before being told that no
further accreditation would take place that day. On Tuesday, I was in
line for seven hours outside in the snow and two hours inside the build-
ing before getting my coveted pass. By Wednesday, NGO admissions
were halted before noon, and by Friday, only ninety representatives from
a range of NGOs were allowed in the building. An alternative site several
miles from the conference center was opened for accredited participants
on Thursday, but the attendance there was very low. During my six days
in Copenhagen, I spent fewer than fi ve hours inside Bella Center, nearly
twenty hours in line, and over $3,000.
The costs to representatives of developing-country NGOs and indig-
enous peoples were notable. Trust and transparency came into question,
contributing considerably to the overall sense of desperation and failure
in Copenhagen. A group of over fi fty NGOs, including Climate Action
Network Europe, Friends of the Earth International, and Third World
Network, submitted a letter to Connie Hedegaard (president of COP15)
and Yvo de Boer (executive secretary of UNFCCC) denouncing the par-
ticipation limits. Part of the letter reads: “The negotiations under the
UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have a huge and increasing impact on
the lives of ordinary people all over the world. Their participation in the
climate negotiations as members of civil society and peoples' movements
is absolutely crucial for ensuring that the Copenhagen outcomes are just,
effective and legitimate” (“NGOs Slam 'Undemocratic' UN Talks”
2010). Several videos on YouTube feature the sea of people waiting in
line, day after day, and several others highlight that even those on the
inside were met with closed-door meetings and severe participation
