Countdown

The clock stopped and there i was sitting amidst the decision makers..WOW...so this is what one of these UN conferences feels like. Here they were, the men and women that countries had nominated to work on the "deal" before the heads of state landed and negotiated their own deal.(This is POST COP - So I guess I can assume certain things with certainty)

So there we were, NGO's and observers all sitted and on time and here were our leaders, still trying to get their act together. Twenty minutes past the scheduled start time and we were still waiting.

One of my friends commented on how disorganised the leaders themselves were....i guess these were hints from the very onset at the direction the talks would be heading towards in the next two weeks.

As every other speech for the two weeks, the opening ceremony was also marked by strong words from the Prime Minister, The (then)Chair for COP 15, the Secretary for UNFCCC and the Chairman of IPCC, all suggesting and commiting to driving forward the negotiations and sealing a real deal. All claimed Climate Change to be a significant threat to the way we live that had to be addressed now.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark) showcased their video titled "help the world" to start things of with and if you were a spectator, watching this video, sitting in that arena with our "world leaders" who were also sitted doe eyed, in that moment you too would have believed (despite huge reservations) that maybe our leaders WILL step up to this Magnum Opus of a challenge.

As I sit here and think about those hours the only thing that comes to mind is that if nothing else the video is worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVGGgncVq-4&feature=PlayList&p=433D8FE26B7269CA&index=0

...Because as the world already knows the rest were just empty words and empty promises.