Big names, big talk, big action?

(by Sara Wolcott)


Not far from me, under the same roof, the ‘leaders of the world’ are gathered and gathering. Right now, Wangari Matthai is addressing them. They just heard from Prince Charles. I am watching on television, along with all the other NGOs and people who did not get tickets to get into the auditorium (I never did figure out how those tickets were distributed). Almost everyone is watching the speeches, at least with half an ear (poor Prince Charles didn’t get much sympathy from the folks around me.)


But you can’t deny that the organizers and the Queen of Denmark are doing their best to put pressure on the delegates to get a deal. It is, they assure us, still possible. Matthai reminded us of the impossibility of perfect documents and the importance of ethical and religious words such as compassion to guide us in these uncertain times. And while all of the speakers speak of the fierce urgency of now, I can’t say their speeches are fiery, or compel me with conviction. Though I am grateful to hear such consensus. And at this point, the political shame of not having a deal is going to be quite bad, but it might not be bad enough.

And at the moment, I’m feeling a bit, well, suspicious. All this talk of ‘this is our only chance’, well, it’s beginning to wear on me. Is it, really? While there is no doubt of the fierce urgency of now, I’m wondering if a global negotiated deal is the way it can/should happen. Nature doesn’t negotiate. Is there another way than this one?

Well, there are some other ways. Warfare, for one. It’s remarkable that a situation of this gravity is being discussed in negotiations and not over the battlefield – the futures of many countries have been decided that way in the past. Perhaps there has been some development. Though if negotiations fail, a battlefield may well erupt.

China talked about beyond ‘negotiations’ and into true co-operation. And at the sub-national level, cities and states are taking progress faster and with greater creativity than is possible at the national or global level.

Today, I’m not sure what, if any, real progress has been made. In the meantime, the access has gotten worse – only 20% of each organization has been let in, and even then there are lines outside for hours in the freezing cold. People have flown here, booked expensive flights and expensive hotels, and will never see the inside of the building. By Thursday, only 1000 people from Civil Society will be let in. No one speaks of Friday. I take that to be a bad sign for NGO representation. And while there are debates about how much good civil society actually does for the documents, there is no doubt that it is important.

Today, I’ve had some amazing workshops and conversations. It strated with the best workshop – so far – and the only one that wasn’t just a panel discussion. Human Rights, Climate change, and business: discuss. Out of htat came several valuable connections for both Leonard and myself, and the insight that climate change policy, not just climate change, needs to be thought of in how it is effecting human rights. And then, a chance to hear Desmund Tutu, Mary Robinson (ex president of Ireland and former HR commissioner at the UN) and the head of Oxfam during a powerful and tear-jurking ‘Climate Change Tribunal’. That was followed by missing a meeting with someone and then, almost by chance, getting into a talk by the Governor from San Paulo Brazil and Schwarznegger from California. I’ve never heard Arnold speak before, and I must say, his message of ‘individuals and organizations and sub-national groups can make a difference’ was powerful, desperately needed, and much appreciated. He might be the best speaker I heard here, which is saying a lot. After a terrible dinner, I heard the televised speech above, had a lovely chance to talk to the head of Bermuda’s Environmental Agency in Bermuda (and learned about Bermuda politics – complicated!), send an email to Hilary Clinton and to Obama to encourage a strong deal that supported Tuvalu’s proposal, and am now listening to the UN discus becoming climate neutral. They’ve started measuring everything they have emitted and looking at offsetting their flights – 2009 is the 2nd year they are doing it. That is being followed by the ‘vikings go green’ talk. As I write, heads of state are landing left and right. The Danish government is, to say the least, stressed. On top of all the other challenges here, multiple heads of state requires immense coordination. It’s not easy – and we’ll see how useful it will be.

I’ve heard more famous people today than I have in the past few years. It’s great to hear everyone talk about ‘my’ issue. But I’m still looking for way to open – and wondering what would happen if there was some real Silence amidst all this noise.