COPENHAGEN - As Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in Copenhagen today he will find himself thrust in the middle of protests, both inside the stalled talks and outside in the streets.
International climate change treaty talks hit at an impasse yesterday, while hundreds of protesters were arrested outside in a violent scuffle with police.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice told QMI that he wasn¹t sure if the closed-door talks would restart in time to allow a preliminary document to be presented to the country leaders.
“We must absolutely have a version today for the country heads that are arriving,” said Prentice. “There will be a lot of behind-the-scenes discussion.”
The delay, Prentice said, means it will be tough for environment ministers to find the time needed to shape it into an “agreement in principle” that the heads of state can sign off on by Friday.
While the United Nation¹s conference on climate change has been underway for nearly two weeks, the leaders of some 100 countries are just beginning to arrive to help further discussions.
Should the conference close without an agreement, Prentice said he's not heard of any plans to extend the talks in Copenhagen.
“When it's finished on Friday, that's pretty much the close of it,” said Prentice. “At that point any matters that are unresolved just carry on in this COP process working towards Mexico which will be the next meeting.” The climate meeting in Mexico is scheduled for 2011.
But talks have slowed, with China and the United States disagreeing over emission reduction targets, financing and control of greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. also wants nothing to do with a treaty that would extend the Kyoto Protocol, which China, along with 30 other countries, signed up for in 1997.
Both the Harper and Obama administrations say they are seeking a new treaty, not a Kyoto II.
Amid speculation that Canada was ready to offer the oil sands a special treatment in any future Canadian climate change legislation, Prentice said he has “made no decisions” on rules for industry.
He also said that while his government has been criticized for a climate change target of a 20% cut in emissions below 2006 levels by 2020, instead of the Kyoto pledge to cut emissions 6% below 1990 levels by 2012, Canada is holding the line.
“Our target has been firmly expressed and we're not budging on the target,” he said.
Harper’s government has made it clear they don’t want to hurt Canadian companies by signing onto different environmental targets than the Americans. That would cause a disadvantage for Canadian companies going up against competitors, said Prentice.
It was a busy day yesterday in the Danish capital, with the day starting off with a major protest by environmentalist groups.
Early in the morning, the city awoke to the sounds of police sirens, as authorities and their dogs were visible everywhere, along the roads, at subway stations and on rooftops near the Bella Centre, where the conference is being held.
Using truncheons and pepper spray, police detained 240 people during a failed in a bid by protesters to storm the conference centre - one of a string of demonstrations called by groups demanding tougher action to avoid more extremes of weather and rising seas that threatens economies.
Protesters said the police response was heavy-handed and came out of nowhere.
“People were beaten with batons ¬ completely unagitated,” Canadian protester Ariel Tchekwie Deranger told CBC Newsworld.
She said the response and the arrests won't stop further protests, however.
“We have to do these drastic stands in order for the public to hear our voice, in order to put pressure on the international governments.”
Things were also hectic inside the centre where the UN had ordered a reduction of non-governmental organizations. The order caused a fight between groups in hundreds of information kiosks.
All over, young protesters read alarmist messages about climate change, while a particularly noisy group moved across the main hall in the afternoon, yelling, “Climate change, it’s right now.”
Meanwhile, Connie Hedegaard, the Danish Environment Minister and president of the conference, resigned yesterday and was replaced by Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen.
With Peter Zimonjic and QMI Agency files
