A day of rest for many, negotiators from key countries were locked behind closed doors feverishly attempting to provide some basis for a successful second and final week of these negotiations. Meanwhile, demonstrations continued on the streets with Danish police providing a physical reminder of the need to avoid earlier ‘excesses’.
For business and industry there were numerous side events, lunches and workshops. A key event for us today was supporting an EU Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) event on CCS at the Danish National Museum.
Speakers included Graeme Sweeney (Shell and Chairman of ZEP), Frederic Hauge (President Bellona Foundation) and Rajendra Pachauri (Chairman Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
All speakers spoke strongly in favour of CCS with Sweeney remarking that it was the missing element in the mitigation armoury. Pachauri emphasised the need to be realistic, stating that coal cannot simply be ‘wished away’ and will be an important feature of the global energy scene for decades to come. Given this reality, CCS needs to be commercialised, and will only be successfully deployed if there is a partnership between government, industry and civil society.
Next week
Tomorrow formal negotiations resume with a heightened sense of urgency. After two years of negotiations it comes down to this week.
Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC, speaking at the Zero Emission Technology Platform CCS event
