Restricted and unequal access to climate negotiations

Thousands of participants and observers of the UN climate summit had to wait long hours in the cold before being able to enter the Bella Center, both yesterday and today. Hundreds of people never managed to get in.

This organisational mismanagement that caused the long queues of the last days occured despite the decision by the UNFCCC secreteriat according to which the access of non-governmental groups (NGOs, industry, scientists) has been restricted by 80% since Tuesday.

The access to the summit's plenary room will be futrher limited to 300 non-governmental observers on Thurday and only 90 on Friday, the final day of the summit. The UNFCCC secreteriat has been unclear about how these 300 and 90 privliged participants will be chosen.

The staff at the helpdesks do not have any information on this question and the secreteriat is slow in responding by email.

This mess affects mostly the access of civil society to the summit and to information about the talks. Corporate lobbyists have easy access to the highest level since they are often part of national delegations (as it's the case with agrofuel lobby UNICA in the Brazilian delegation). Business lobbyist have rented tens of prestigeous venues across Copenhagen to hold their exclusive events (for instance, the Crown Plaza Hotel that is used by carbon trade lobby IETA). They can meet government negotiators there or in five star hotels where both negotiators and industry lobbyists stay. Despite of the intense negotiations going on, high-level government officials take the time to participate in events organised by big busines for instance BusinessEurope event yesterday.

In the ZEP event Shell lobbyist Sweeney casually referred a meeting he had had earlier that day with some major representative of the US government.

This kind of unequal access can only result in a very unbalanced outcome of the climate talks.