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Out in the cold: A Copenhagen odyssey


Global warming was farthest from the minds of journalists and other participants who had to stand in line for hours just to get their accreditation badges at the start of the second week of the climate conference in Copenhagen. Anticipating the long queues that have become the norm when the climate talks switch to the high-level segment, my colleagues and I were at the conference venue at the Bella Center by 8:30 in the morning, thirty minutes before the registration counters open. But many others seemed to have the same idea, and there was already a hundred-meter long file by the time we arrived in the open area outside the fence. Despite the numbing two-degree weather, the first two hours went by quite fast as we chatted and made fun of the line that kept getting longer. Vegetarian activists dressed in chicken suits amused us while we waited, as they went up and down the captive crowd offering a free bag with a hardbound picture book of animals that had few takers. By the third hour, however, it was no longer fun. My toes were going numb, my wool socks and leather boots no match for the biting cold. Aside from being exposed to the elements, there was a canal beside the bundled throng and woe to the ones nearest the water when even the slightest wind would blow. Sniffling heavily and shuffling my feet every so often to keep the blood circulation going, I didn’t need any convincing when the group finally decided to leave the queue after four hours. By then, we were barely ten meters from the gate, but our tall tutor who was a head above the crowd could see that nothing was moving inside. We were also getting reports that the ID machines had broken down. I have been covering the climate conference almost every year since 2000, when the Berlin-based International Institute for Journalism started inviting environment reporters from developing countries to cover the talks so that there would be more media reportage in this part of the world. In all these years, it was the first time that we were subjected to such an agonizing wait we could have sued someone for torture.

Around 45,000 participants wanted to get into Copenhagen's Bella Center built for only 15,000. Yasmin Arquiza
Unlike other environment meetings, the climate talks do not only attract eco-activists and researchers that often dominate gatherings revolving around “save the earth" concerns. Because of the climate debate’s impact on economic growth and the wealth of new business opportunities offered by the carbon market under the Kyoto Protocol, industry lobbyists and consultants have started flocking to the conference, resulting in record attendance that keeps growing every year. With the future of the planet and that of global industries both at stake in Copenhagen, even politicians that have not paid much attention to the climate debate are visiting Denmark this time. A day after the chaos at the gates, the United Nations secretariat handling the conference announced that more than 45,000 people had applied for accreditation, or three times the capacity of the Bella Center. “An overwhelming number of those who applied arrived on Monday, causing congestion in the area outside the UN venue, which is under the control of the Danish police, and also long delays inside the UN area of control at accreditation counters," a press statement from the secretariat said. “The UN regrets the long delays today for people wishing to gain access or pick up accreditation at the Bella Centre," the statement added. While most press people understand the tight security and don’t really mind the long queues, it would have helped if Denmark had prepared enough and provided the minimum necessities for those in the queue. The last time I had to wait in line in wintry weather like this was in Montreal in 2005, but at least, we were in a covered and well-protected area at the time.
The author was among the multitudes left lining up for hours in freezing temperatures. The usually well-organized Danes failed to anticipate the numbers. Yasmin Arquiza
After our near-bout with pneumonia outside Bella Center, the group decided to get a bountiful Greek buffet at the city center and proceed to the alternative Klima forum of civil society organizations beside the central train station instead. On the bus ride back to the hotel, we learned from another journalist who stayed in the line that he and the others were still not able to get their badge even after waiting for eight hours, driving some people to tears when the registration counter closed at 6 p.m. The following day, I decided to cover a presentation about forests at the Klima forum in the morning and try my luck at the Bella Center at midday. As I watched the snow swirling down the busy streets while having lunch at the visitor center in front of Tivoli gardens, I thought to myself, no way am I going to stand in line in that snow if the UN still had not shaped up. Without much hope, I boarded the train to the Bella Center, expecting to see another snaking line of black overcoats below the station. To my pleasant surprise, there were no lines. I held out the copy of my accreditation document as I neared the gate, but the police simply waved me inside and told to enter the empty right lane. To my left, there was a long line of people, whom I learned later came from observer organizations. Dazed at having made it inside so easily, I went to the wrong queue but quickly got wind of my mistake and went to the proper one for media. In 10 minutes, I had my press badge. Having breezed through the registration desk, I didn’t have the heart to boast about my experience to colleagues who woke up at 5 a.m. that day and were already standing in line by 6 a.m. They were not alone; already, there were 10 people in front when they got to the gate. They managed to get in three hours later. – GMANews.TV The author is covering the climate change conference upon the invitation of the Berlin-based International Institute for Journalism.
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