Climate Crashers

Climate summit closed to civil society, but remains open to big business

2009-12-17T13:22:00.005+01:00

Yesterday hundreds of activists were beaten and arrested in the streets of Copenhagen and Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth and other NGOs were banned from the Bella Center, where the UN negotiations take place. But this morning, representatives of big business were inside the Bella Center having a high-level breakfast with 10 ministers, an event jointly organised by the World Business Council

NGOs excluded but developing nations stand up to rich countries

2009-12-16T17:32:00.005+01:00

The voice of civil society may have been effectively kept out of the UN climate talks today - with NGOs refused entry following this morning’s walkout protest, but heads of states from developing nations have been outspoken on the failure so far to commit to adequate emission cuts.Speeches were delayed this morning after China and other countries objected to another new text which had reportedly

Protesters beaten up, NGOs excluded

2009-12-16T17:24:00.004+01:00

Avaaz, Friends of the Earth International, Via Campesina and maybe others were banned from the COP15 conference this morning. The excuse was actions they had held inside the conference centre. These non-violent actions are quite common during climate conferences and had been allowed in Copenhagen since the first day of the conference. Today's decision took everyone by surprise.Later on, civil

Walk out at the UN climate talks

2009-12-16T12:03:00.005+01:00

Delegates staged a mass walk out from the UN climate talks in Copenhagen this morning, chanting "Reclaim the power".Some 200 or more people left the building in protest at the way in which governments are excluding the voices of people from the talks. Meanwhile outside, some of those excluded, marched on the conference centre where they were held by police. The delegates who walked out were held

Arrests in Copenhagen a serious threat to democracy

2009-12-16T08:32:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday, December 15, several hundreds of activists attended the event at the civil society conference (KlimaForum) in Copenhagen where Monsanto was hailed as the worst anti-climate lobby involved in the UN talks.While this ceremony was taking place in the underground floor, the police invaded the ground floor of the KlimaForum and arrested several people. Police and military have several

Restricted and unequal access to climate negotiations

2009-12-15T15:36:00.003+01:00

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

BusinessEurope gets praise from EU governments, despite irresponsible lobbying

2009-12-15T12:40:00.008+01:00

At a high-profile event into the Bella Center of Copenhagen yesterday, European industrialists repeated their demand that the EU should not go beyond a 20% CO2 reduction target. Lobby giant BusinessEurope has throughout the Copenhagen climate summit very vocally warned the EU against a 30% reduction,

Old polluting companies push like crazy for CCS

2009-12-14T13:23:00.002+01:00

An undated letter is circulating in the corridors of the Copenhagen climate conference, sent by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) to the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board.IETA's membership includes many of the fossil fuel energy giants which have played such a disastrous role in the global high-carbon addiction economy of the last 50 years..In the letter IETA

“Danish text” leak yet another example of biased behaviour by COP15 host

2009-12-10T00:06:00.001+01:00

Corporate Europe Observatory is in Copenhagen covering the UN climate talks and watching corporate lobbyists at work.Yesterday the Danish hosts of the UN climate talks (COP15) had a draft agreement on the Copenhagen negotiations leaked to the public which once again emphasised the privileged access and influence given to the rich and the powerful by the (officially neutral) hosts.The leaked draft

Extracting influence at the heart of the EU

2009-02-17T16:58:00.002+01:00

Oil industry lobbying at the heart of the EU has played a key role in influencing Europe's energy policy, according to a new report from Corporate Europe Observatory and PLATFORM. The report, BP - Extracting Influence at the Heart of the EU, reveals the oil giant's close relationship with decision makers and highlights how the company has convinced Commissioners and others that BP's interests are

The allocation of space in Poznan

2008-12-11T20:35:00.012+01:00

Compared to the 200 side events booked through the UN process, there are 201 events outside the UN process in the spaces framed with red colour.

Business Day in Poznan

2008-12-10T11:54:00.020+01:00

Tuesday 9 December 2008 – A whole building in the Poznan International Fair was hired by WBCSD and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for the Poznan Business Day, co-organised with ten other trade associations. Global industry's elite were all there: 150 business executives, almost exclusively from US, EU and Japan. There were also government representatives (USA, France, UK, Poland,

CJN! Press Conference on the 'Corporate takeover at Poznan'

2008-12-09T10:08:00.015+01:00

Monday 8 December 2008 - The Climate Justice Now! network held a press conference on the privileged access that big corporations have to the UN negotiators and the exclusion of indigenous people and other groups.The speakers were:- Jorge Fugagaro, President of the Indigenous People's Organisation of the Colombian Amazon- Ricardo Navarro, President of CESTA / Friends of the Earth El Salvador - You

The International Emission Trading Association: Diverting focus from environment to markets

2008-12-08T20:06:00.012+01:00

Saturday, 6 December 2008 - IETA has the biggest representation in Poznan with 254 lobbyists registered in the official (provisional) participants' list under the category 'Non-governmental organizations'. It represents some of the biggest energy corporations of the world, some other industrial giants and many banks and assurance companies. IETA was the biggest lobby group also in the previous

The street lobby!

2008-12-08T09:59:00.005+01:00

6 December 2008 - Thousands of local and international demonstrators took to Poznan's streets today to make clear that "they are serious about climate change" and want "Climate Justice Now".

Big business against technology transfer and for exclusive deals of the developed world

2008-12-05T18:40:00.029+01:00

Today ( Friday 5 December) the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) organised a side event on 'the business contribution to a new climate agreement'.With 65 lobbyists, the WBCSD is one of the bigger business lobbying bodies in Poznan. It represents over 200 transnational corporations, most of them headquartered in Europe, Japan and North America, employing 'over 3 million

CEO, EU and the lobbyists in Poznan!

2008-12-04T14:41:00.000+01:00

I'm travelling today to the UN international climate talks in Poznan on a mission to report on the activities of European corporate lobbyists there.Supposed tough EU measures to tackle climate change have been dramatically weakened following a broad lobbying campaign by different sectors of industry, a new report from Corporate Europe Observatory shows. Industry has successfully argued that tough