Snowed in

Things are getting desperate here in Copenhagen. All of this momentum, all of this urgency, all of these incredibly impassioned people crying for a deal-- and we are getting a stalemate. (Or so it seems.) At least, that is the impression I am getting sifting through my email inbox. "Negotiations are breaking down!" "Copenhagen is failing!" These are some reactions (among many) that I am receiving from fellow NGO's and some activist organizations. I think that, in many ways, they are right-- Copenhagen is not on track to save the climate. However, some truly wonderful things are going to come out of all of this. Japan is pledging $15 billion towards a climate fund for developing countries, the EU is pledging $12 billion, the US is also “prepared to work together with other countries” to raise 100 billion US dollars annually by 2020, and all countries have officially acknowledged climate change as an incredibly pressing problem facing human society. Although the politics may be slow, good will come out of this--governments and people are coming around. Tens of millions are signing petitions, hundreds of thousands are marching in the streets. The world is calling for a solution to this problem. And the markets are changing, however slowly, to provide for this change. Investments in renewable energies are only becoming more profitable, and as governments invest in stronger policies in these areas, this will only improve. Things are changing. Something new is on its way--even if these negotiations fail.

However, I can't imagine these talks bringing nothing at all. I mean, can you imagine 120+ leaders all conglomerating in the same spot and saying, "Oh... Well I guess this was a waste of time." I can't see it. Even if the deal doesn't save the climate completely, it should limit deforestation, start to slow emissions and pollution, and create momentum towards a new, clean energy economy. Something should happen. I guess we will know by tomorrow night...

As for me, I spent the day at the house of my host family. It snowed last night, so I sat around the house, read my book, and went for some walks. (Biking into the train station on my road bike gets a little trickier with the snow and ice.) A beautiful day in Denmark. The forest is covered in snow.