Putting nitrogen on the radar at Copenhagen
Clare Howard
from Copenhagen
I am only attending the COP-15 meeting for two days (7-8th December), but even this short session has given me an insight into this important conference and the events surrounding it. The event itself (even without the large impact it could have for our planet) is immense, with literally hundreds of organisations in attendance, it is bustling with activity and it is very easy to reach information overload! The Danish have done a very good job in hosting the conference.
This blog is being written at one of the 'Climate Cafés' in the conference centre, a refreshment point for delegates. Although the area is set out like a café with small tables, several groups have drawn chairs together into circles to hold impromptu meetings about their issues and organisations - you can see this throughout the Bella Centre where the conference is being held. Most people are still hard at work while taking lunch or coffee, discussing the latest issue with colleagues or catching up on e-mail.
Yesterday we had to register at the conference centre to gain our security passes for the building. We queued for quite some time, but luckily not as long as some of the other delegates - a colleague of mine queued for 4 hours! Despite the long queues I didn't see any disgruntled delegates - I imagine that the importance and size of the meeting meant that most people understood it was unavoidable. The capacity for the building is 15,000 people and on at least two occasions they have reached this, after which they work on a one out, one in basis.
I came to COP-15 to help with one of the side-events, organised by the International nitrogen Initiative, through the US Center here. The event highlighted the importance of including nitrogen in climate mitigation policies - to maximise co-benefits [other beneficial effects from policies aimed primarily at a specific issue] and avoid harmful trade-offs.
The event started with an hour-long session with introductory presentations and a panel discussion, followed by a drinks reception hosted by CEH. Both parts of the event were well attended, especially as we were scheduled for the first evening of the conference (in parallel to a welcoming event in the centre of Copenhagen).
The presentation and panel session went well, with good interaction between the panel members and delegates within the audience. The reception which followed allowed delegates a chance to discuss the science more informally - attendees from a variety of backgrounds seemed interested in the issues and solutions which nitrogen might provide.
The informal nature of the side events and the venue here also meant that in some cases we were informing delegates who had previously not even considered that nitrogen was an environmental issue, let alone its links to climate change.
The reception was attended by delegates from a variety of countries including India, Canada, UK and the USA, and with different backgrounds - scientists, journalists and even environmental lawyers and their students. Although it was a small event within a much larger meeting, our points were well received and I think we all felt that it had been worth the effort spent organising it.
I will be travelling home this evening, but the 'huddles' of delegates and the busy work will continue in my absence, hopefully bringing some success to these negotiations.
Clare Howard is a scientist working on nitrogen pollution jointly between the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, at Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh. She is Project Officer of the Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen of the UN-ECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.
Posted on 8 December 2009
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