Climate negotiations still cloaked in secrecy

As an inevitable result, business and industry observers are becoming less involved in the complex debate of how the world can reach a new, strengthened post-Kyoto agreement on limiting and then reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Indeed, one industry official attending the UN conference today said “things are becoming more and more opaque as we progress” since observers are not able to access as many conference details as before.

What is apparent today is that, in many respects, negotiations towards finding a new emissions-reduction agreement appear to be near a confusing standstill.
“I have no idea what’s happening, quite frankly,” said Steve Sawyer, secretary-general of the Global Wind Energy Council, adding negotiations positions seem to be quite divided. “Someone has to blink or else we won’t have an agreement.”

Concurring, Remi Gruet, climate change advisor for the European Wind Energy Association, said today’s plenary sessions should be reporting there has been very little progress so far.

“A lot of the [outstanding] issues have been kicked back to the ministerial level,” Gruet said.

“We still expect to have a political agreement that will be non-legally binding but, obviously, this can not be considered a success. But, it’s also not necessarily a failure since the process will continue next year.”

Gruet also noted today marks the end of the Bali Action Plan process that began two years ago at the UN climate change conference in Indonesia.

The “four pillars” of the action plan, he said, include a shared vision on how to reduce between 2012 and 2050 greenhouse gases in order to avoid dangerous climate change; mitigation; adaptation; and finance and technology issues.
For the wind power industry, Gruet said, mitigation is the most important pillar because that is where future polices promoting wind energy, other renewables and energy efficiency will be applied.

It was also learned that a total of 7,000 business and industry observer NGOs would be allowed entrance into the Bella Centre today and Wednesday but that figure would drop to only 1,000 by Thursday as already heavy security continues to increase due to the arrival later in the week of Heads of State.

Danish businesses vote wind energy

As prime ministers and presidents prepare to come to Copenhagen this week, Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten has published a survey of Danish businesses.

The paper asked the top 30 Danish companies what sources of energy should be used in the future giving a range of nine choices including coal, nuclear and wind.

The winner, by a big margin, was wind. The Danish Wind Industry Association naturally expressed its satisfaction that wind energy is the preferred energy choice of Danish businesses.

The Danish government has a target of providing 50% of the country’s electricity from wind power by 2025.

"Harness the wind to tackle climate change"

The wind is an abundant energy resource. Wind energy is a real alternative to emission producing fossil fuels and, crucially, can be deployed and begin reducing CO2 emissions immediately.

Wind energy is already fighting climate change: in 2008, wind power in the EU avoided the emission of 91 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2.