Copenhagen sees pros and cons of host role
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Andrew Ward
In the unlikely event that Barack Obama passes through the airport terminal when he arrives in Copenhagen this week, the US president would be met by an alarming image of himself with grey hair and ageing features.
"I'm sorry, we could have stopped catastrophic climate change," declares the text above a picture of what Mr Obama might look like in 2020. "We did nothing."
The advertisement, by the environmental group Greenpeace, is part of a barrage of billboard messages aimed at delegates arriving in the Danish capital for two weeks of talks that started last Monday to forge a new global deal on climate change.
Buoyant advertising sales are just one example of how Copenhagen's economy stands to gain from an event expected to attract 15,000 participants and more than 100 heads of state and government. Hotels are another beneficiary, with almost every room in the city booked.
But the windfall is not without risks as the eyes of the world focus on Copenhagen's handling of what environmental activists are billing as the most important international conference since the second world war. Challenges are likely to include traffic gridlock as diplomatic motorcades crisscross the city and potential trouble involving the thousands of protesters promising to make their voices heard.
There is also reputational danger in attaching the city's name to a conference that could end in failure. The city of Kyoto is arguably better known for the flawed deal that emerged from the last big climate change summit, in 1997, than for the temples and shrines of Japan's former imperial capital.
Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister who is chairing the conference, says Denmark has done everything possible to prepare a successful conference. "But in the end," she adds, "it will depend on the political will of our guests."
Copenhagen climate summit: With an average elevation of only 31 metres above sea level and nowhere more than 32 miles from the ocean, Denmark has more than pride at stake in pushing a deal. Red flashing lights have been fixed to walls around Copenhagen showing where water would reach if sea levels rose by the seven metres predicted if global warming proceeds unchecked.
Conference organisers are acutely aware of the contradiction involved in people flying across the world on carbon-belching aircraft to talk about cutting emissions. Some estimates indicate the conference will generate more than 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, greater than Switzerland produced in the whole of 2006.
Svend Olling, the Danish foreign ministry official responsible for conference logistics, says a carbon offset programme, involving replacement of inefficient brick factories in Bangladesh, will ensure the summit has a neutral impact on global emissions. Deloitte, the accountancy group, has been recruited to calculate the carbon footprint.
Organisers have also tried to make the conference itself as green as possible. Instead of refrigerators full of bottled water, delegates are being offered ordinary Copenhagen tap water from biodegradable corn starch cups filled from drinking fountains dotted around the Bella Centre convention hall.
There are no special buses laid on from hotels, encouraging participants to use public transport links serving the venue. Bicycles are also available and high-level delegates are being offered limousines powered by ethanol made from organic waste.
But Mr Olling says there is a balance to be struck between saving energy and facilitating successful negotiations. "If there are leaders that need bulletproof vehicles, we are not going to force them to ride in an electric car."
Security around the Bella Centre is tight, with concrete barriers and high fences surrounding the perimeter. Danish police have received emergency powers to detain anyone for up to 12 hours merely on suspicion they may be about to break the law, much to the chagrin of civil libertarians.
Ritt Bjerregaard, lord mayor of Copenhagen, is confident the majority of protesters - expected to number in the tens of thousands for a rally on December 12 - will be peaceful. "We have built a relationship with the NGOs and they are as keen as us to keep violence out of the city," she says.
With the Bella Centre located two miles outside the city centre, the main commercial and tourist districts should escape the worst disruption. Walking through the cobbled streets of Old Town in recent days, there was little sense of history in the making as people went about their Christmas shopping.
When questioned, most Danes expressed enthusiasm for the conference even if some are cynical about the likely outcome. "They will do just enough to make it look like they're doing something," said Christian Jensen, a student.
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In the unlikely event that Barack Obama passes through the airport terminal when he arrives in Copenhagen this week, the US president would be met by an alarming image of himself with grey hair and ageing features.
"I'm sorry, we could have stopped catastrophic climate change," declares the text above a picture of what Mr Obama might look like in 2020. "We did nothing."
The advertisement, by the environmental group Greenpeace, is part of a barrage of billboard messages aimed at delegates arriving in the Danish capital for two weeks of talks that started last Monday to forge a new global deal on climate change.
Buoyant advertising sales are just one example of how Copenhagen's economy stands to gain from an event expected to attract 15,000 participants and more than 100 heads of state and government. Hotels are another beneficiary, with almost every room in the city booked.
But the windfall is not without risks as the eyes of the world focus on Copenhagen's handling of what environmental activists are billing as the most important international conference since the second world war. Challenges are likely to include traffic gridlock as diplomatic motorcades crisscross the city and potential trouble involving the thousands of protesters promising to make their voices heard.
There is also reputational danger in attaching the city's name to a conference that could end in failure. The city of Kyoto is arguably better known for the flawed deal that emerged from the last big climate change summit, in 1997, than for the temples and shrines of Japan's former imperial capital.
Connie Hedegaard, the Danish minister who is chairing the conference, says Denmark has done everything possible to prepare a successful conference. "But in the end," she adds, "it will depend on the political will of our guests."
Copenhagen climate summit: With an average elevation of only 31 metres above sea level and nowhere more than 32 miles from the ocean, Denmark has more than pride at stake in pushing a deal. Red flashing lights have been fixed to walls around Copenhagen showing where water would reach if sea levels rose by the seven metres predicted if global warming proceeds unchecked.
Conference organisers are acutely aware of the contradiction involved in people flying across the world on carbon-belching aircraft to talk about cutting emissions. Some estimates indicate the conference will generate more than 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, greater than Switzerland produced in the whole of 2006.
Svend Olling, the Danish foreign ministry official responsible for conference logistics, says a carbon offset programme, involving replacement of inefficient brick factories in Bangladesh, will ensure the summit has a neutral impact on global emissions. Deloitte, the accountancy group, has been recruited to calculate the carbon footprint.
Organisers have also tried to make the conference itself as green as possible. Instead of refrigerators full of bottled water, delegates are being offered ordinary Copenhagen tap water from biodegradable corn starch cups filled from drinking fountains dotted around the Bella Centre convention hall.
There are no special buses laid on from hotels, encouraging participants to use public transport links serving the venue. Bicycles are also available and high-level delegates are being offered limousines powered by ethanol made from organic waste.
But Mr Olling says there is a balance to be struck between saving energy and facilitating successful negotiations. "If there are leaders that need bulletproof vehicles, we are not going to force them to ride in an electric car."
Security around the Bella Centre is tight, with concrete barriers and high fences surrounding the perimeter. Danish police have received emergency powers to detain anyone for up to 12 hours merely on suspicion they may be about to break the law, much to the chagrin of civil libertarians.
Ritt Bjerregaard, lord mayor of Copenhagen, is confident the majority of protesters - expected to number in the tens of thousands for a rally on December 12 - will be peaceful. "We have built a relationship with the NGOs and they are as keen as us to keep violence out of the city," she says.
With the Bella Centre located two miles outside the city centre, the main commercial and tourist districts should escape the worst disruption. Walking through the cobbled streets of Old Town in recent days, there was little sense of history in the making as people went about their Christmas shopping.
When questioned, most Danes expressed enthusiasm for the conference even if some are cynical about the likely outcome. "They will do just enough to make it look like they're doing something," said Christian Jensen, a student.
Under the FE's syndication
arrangement