Thousands of delegates streamed into the Poznan World Trade Center in Poland this morning for the opening day of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP14).
They were greeted by a blustery (zero degree) winter morning while cheerful WWF staff members handing out ‘climate nuts’ with a strong message that its time to crack the ongoing international negotiations.
Along with nuts, delegates were given the WWF Position Paper on COP14, which sets out clear points on how to reach a fair and ambitious treaty, setting a positive and optimistic tone for the long and difficult two weeks to come.
While inside the warm Trade Center, the buzz words changed from ‘climate nuts’ to ‘shared vision’, ‘global action’, ‘impacts of climate change on small states’, ‘rich countries need to act’ and ‘Obama’s climate solution to the financial crises’.
Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister, said that the financial crisis will come and go but climate change will last.
With the guiding Bali Roadmap agreed this time last year, and only 12 months to go until Copenhagen in Dec 2009, the mandate for negotiators at Poznan is to develop a concrete proposal for the new global climate deal.
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