17 December update - Highlights from Copenhagen

Thursday, 17 December 2009, 4:56 pm
Press Release: Science Media Centre

17/12/09
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

17 December update - Highlights from Copenhagen

More world leaders will arrive today, including New Zealand PM John Key, who will attend the royal banquet later tonight.

The US delegation claims it is confident an agreement will be reached, even as other delegates complain of deadlock on key issues. Details of 'backroom deals' continue to leak out intermittently. Journalists on the ground will have their work cut out for them keeping on top of events as the climate summit builds to a conclusion.

The SMC has set up a COP15 resource page here.

Highlights from the programme:

Official events:

Negotiations are reportedly delayed -- the official programme for today has not yet been released. Check this page for availability later this morning (Copenhagen time).

National statements from ministers/heads of governments are due to run today through to the early hours of 18 Dec.

Statement from New Zealand Going clean: the economics of China's low-carbon development: Lord Nicholas Stern and Professor Rockstroem present a new report by the Chinese Economists 50 Forum and Stockholm Environment Insitute
Asger Jorn Rm

10:00-10:30 WHO: Protecting Health from Climate Change
Press Conference Rm

10:00-10:30 - University of Linkoeping: Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research: Changes in negotiation leadership: results from a survey among delegates at COP 15
Asger Jorn Rm

11:00-11:30 Africa Group
Press Conference Rm

12:15-12:45 - Secretary-General: Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change
Asger Jorn Rm

12:15-12:45 UNFCCC: Executive Secretary
Press Conference Rm

13:00-13:30 Delegation of Tuvalu
Asger Jorn Rm

15:30-16:00 - Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives
Press Conference Rm

18:00-18:30 UNFCCC: Executive Secretary
Press conference Rm

Side events (for those in Copenhagen)

9:00-10:30 - Bali to Copenhagen via Canberra: Climate Institute:- Australia's domestic and international climate policies. The last two years have seen the climate change policy landscape in Australia transformed. In this session, leading policy analysts and decision makers from government, NGOs, the business sector and academia will provide an update and assess the prospects for the post-2012 period.
Halfdan Rasmussen Rm

14:30-16:15 - Strategies for a staged full inclusion of terrestrial carbon
The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Terrestrial Carbon Group present progress and strategies for resolving scientific, institutional and economic challenges to a staged full inclusion of terrestrial carbon in accounting for GHG mitigation, starting with forest emissions and sequestration.
Radisson Blu Falconer Hotel, Falkoner Alle 9, 2000 Frederiksberg

16:30-18:00 Heading to 4 degrees C: Implications and ways out - University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute, University of East Anglia
Cumulative emissions show that the 2°C target will require a complete reversal in global emissions trends. We report on the impact and adaptation consequences of a global change above 4°C, and explore the options for avoiding this magnitude of climate change.
Halfdan Rasmussen Rm

16:30-18:00 IFOAM, WFC: Bio-sequestration vs. geo-sequestration (CCS) - Organic solutions to climate change and food security
Liva Weel Rm

Update from the AusSMC:
ONLINE BRIEFING ALERT - TIM FLANNERY LIVE FROM COP15
On Saturday at 9am AEDT/ Friday at 11pm Copenhagen time (*time subject to change), Professor Tim Flannery from Macquarie University and the Copenhagen Climate Council will join us on the phone from his hotel in Copenhagen for a reaction to the outcome of the COP15 Conference. An alert email will be issued separately.

Additional audio and video updates to their site

ENDS

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