Tens of thousands of NGO participants, thousands of media and hundreds of delegates mingle in and around the conference centre – from “stop the world we want to get off” activists at one end of the spectrum: to the investment banker crowd at the other, who seem still to knowingly believe that the market will take care of much of the challenges. And in the middle a massive array of dedicated people with a small picture take on the big picture – advocates for rainforests, deserts, oceans, vegans, animals, youth, indigenous, wind, solar, nuclear, bio-diversity, bamboo etc.. And the occasional tourism people – the airlines with a side event on fuel saving, the Caribbean on its reef program and WTTC / UNWTO with climate champions.
The business dinner was at Hamlet’s Castle with the clever strap line “to be or not to be” - with speaker after speaker explaining why business is the answer - and the NGO Party (which many from the castle joined later “for the real fun”) spread into the streets to explain why business is the problem. The truth no doubt ls somewhere in between !!
Back at the negotiations, it’s all about three sets of numbers. The stabilization temperature rise of “2 degrees” by 2050 and peaking emissions over the next decade or so; which is is widely agreed. Then the second set, the carbon reduction targets which seem to be moving to agreed framework with final details in follow up discussions with differing baselines, reduction targets and even action concepts. The third set - the increasingly more visible pro poor adaptation funding - is where the rubber hits the road. The African walk out and walk back, increased the emphasis on the financial targets and the much awaited arrival of leaders suggests that if they are bold enough, there is a Deal to be Sealed.
Which leads me neatly, to my own fun and games - the launch of the campaign “Live the Deal” via an interview with my old friend Jose Maria Figueras, ex President of Costa Rica, with his Global Observatory which is broadcast to 30 million people around the world.
His first question set the tone ... do we really need tourism ... can’t we stop planes flying for what is essentially a discretionary activity and save the carbon... (What our American cousins call a softball) ...
Sure we can stop it I said - if we want to deny the world’s poorest countries the biggest chance they have for direct export income and to use their big comparative advantage unspoiled nature, culture and tradition....And if we want to slow down trade and commerce to help make the economic recovery more difficult...and if it doesn’t get its act together over the next 4 decades like every other human activity and reduce our 5% share of total emissions in line with the Government agreed Copenhagen Deal....
The perfect lead in for me to say ....which is why we are launching today “Live The Deal” ...a green economy travel & tourism initiative to implement the carbon reduction outcomes of Copenhagen. And a supporting policy think tank for innovation/investment in smart sustainable Travel & Tourism and new Climate Profiles. And a really neat animated video with platinum record star Alston Koch. And......
But of course the dreaded TV time limit cut in and the great announcement got zapped. And I was too engaged in the discussion to do what you learn in media 101 - get you main message across . But the press release did go and UNWTO is putting out its own support and PATA almost got theirs out even earlier - so there is real momentum.. (Details on www.greenearth.com/livethedeal) GHL December 15th 2009
