Global General
Danish envoy optimistic about climate summit
By Mike Peters (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-08 07:48
Obviously Danish officials have been very focused on the summit, and you have watched expectations go up and down and now up again after APEC. How do you feel now that the summit is beginning?
We have been fairly optimistic all along. At the same time we realized that in the process up to the meeting there would be a phase with many different announcements, many different points of view, maybe also some confusion.
As my prime minister explained at APEC in Singapore, we were heading for one agreement, two purposes. The first purpose: to lock in the political commitment that is already there and at the time was emerging, in terms of targets, actions and finance. And we got to lock in that commitment to serve as a basis for immediate action even before we had a ratified text.
The second purpose should be to provide detailed, clear guidelines for the continued work on a legal text. Some got the impression that this was reducing Copenhagen to a stepping stone to something else that was more important. We've never seen it like this.
In our view, Copenhagen is the place to do the deal. That is where everything needs to be on the table, all the figures from all the countries, all the elements from the Bali roadmap, we cannot do a partial deal, we need to do a deal encompassing all the aspects. As time has gone on, we see that is clearly what is emerging.
Many countries since the APEC meeting have taken up the challenge, including China, and put forward their own offer.
Can you talk a little about the Danish role for the summit?
Denmark is hosting this summit and it is a UN summit, and of course the UN process is the basis for everything that we're doing. At the same time, it has been necessary for Denmark as the host country to try to create this convergence of expectations which is necessary to land a deal.
That is why, in Singapore, my prime minister stepped up and put forward his ideas on how he would see a deal. We had known, of course, that this would draw fire. But that was the intention - to draw fire to get the negotiations going, and we believe that is what has happened.
What has hosting the summit meant for Denmark?
First and foremost, it has been the clear focus of what our government has been doing internationally for the last two years. Hosting such an important event is also a challenge - it's a big event logistically. We're very honored that the international community decided in Bali that we should try to land this deal in Copenhagen.
How will the EU's new executive structure affect climate negotiations?
Climate change has been clearly anchored with the European Commission, and with the Council for the Environment, and that continues to be the case.
But I would like to underline that on this issue the EU going all the way back to Kyoto has taken a leading role. You might say that last time, in Kyoto, the lead was so strong that not so much of the world followed. And that is part of the problem. Because Europe cannot solve this problem alone, no country can solve this problem alone, no group of countries can solve this problem alone. This is a global problem and can only be solved if we all contribute. That is also why we talk about common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
Maybe I should say that Europe has taken the lead again to reduce emissions compared to the 1990 level: by 30 percent in the context of a global agreement, and in any event by 20 percent.
Greenland, a Danish territory, is feeling a lot of effects of climate change. How is Denmark helping Greenland to cope, and does the prospect of ice-free shipping lanes mean there are some positives for Greenland as well as negatives?
First of all, on your last point, it's important to say that climate change is first and foremost a risk. It involves a lot of changes that are difficult to foresee, impossible to control and which affect an awful lot of people - not least in the Third World, where their livelihood is being threatened.
Greenland is gradually taking more and more responsibility for various policy areas. Denmark of course is supporting Greenland financially in this process: Greenland is rather poor, Greenland is developing and Greenland needs our assistance.
The Danish government stands by its commitment to support development in Greenland, and that also includes support for Greenland dealing with climate change. Greenland is coming from a different point of departure than most of Denmark.
You have a climate officer here at the embassy. Can you tell us about that work?
The task of our embassy in this run-up over the last couple of years has been to report on developments in China and facilitate close cooperation with China on climate change. We have a program that supports development of renewable energy in China. But we've been focusing on consulting with the Chinese negotiators and we're very happy to see how diligently and responsibly these people have been working toward the same aim we have been working toward, and that is to land an ambitious deal in Copenhagen.
(China Daily 12/08/2009 page10)
