The “Danish Treaty” scandal that erupted Tuesday night continues to reverberate throughout the press room, with journalists from around the world calling it a “game changer,” ”the death blow” to the COP15 conference that may yet still lead to a walkout.
The real problem is that negotiations in Copenhagen began after months of stalemate and, as Yvo de Boer, the UN’s top climate change expert told reporters, after previous meetings in Barcelona, Bangkok and Bonn, which were supposed overcome the main differences between developed and developing countries, ended up with little or no progress and a lot of work to do in very little time. By all accounts, the Danes, anxious to secure a deal, put forward what they hoped was a reasonable proposal. Some of those in the developing world now expressing shock and outrage were in the room, according to de Boer, when the proposal was discussed and, apparently, didn’t raise loud protests at the time.