wind turbines at sunset
Update: 19th July
The pace of activities continues to pick up rapidly here in Bonn.
Yesterday, the US Greenpeace students had a formal debate at 8 AM with the "Corporate" students brought over by a combination of climate skeptics, the oil industry and Republicans. Needless to say, our students carried the day, which started early because the "Corporate" students had to rush off for a sightseeing tour of nearby Cologne.
NGOs here have created a button (badge) with a picture of the Japanese flag and the words "Honour Kyoto" on them. German Environment Minister Jurgen Trittin was spotted wearing one, as well as delegates from many other countries.
One highlight of the day, if you can call it that, is when Don Perlman, "The High Priest of the Carbon Club," was caught giving US Chief Negotiator Paula Dobriansky a hug as they parted in an elevator in the conference center.
The US is also making noises which would lead us to believe that they intend to obstruct the negotiations IF they get close to making a deal. Actions in the UK, Spain, Mexico and the USA continue to put pressure on the delegates here, as they break down into working groups to grapple with the political issues that must be resolved by the ministers if the process is to move forward.
The pattern that is emerging here is that Canada and Australia are taking on the role of "spoilers," trying to wreck the negotiations at every turn. Although they deny it publicly, behind the scenes they are vandalizing the negotiations. And everyone is still waiting for Japan to show some of the "flexibility" that was promised yesterday by Japanese Environment Minister Kawaguchi, we'll let you know when we see some.
