Brasília – The president of the 15th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP-15), Connie Hedegaard, resigned on this Wednesday (16th). She was being accused by representatives of developing countries of trying to favour wealthy nations in the negotiations. She will be replaced by the Danish prime-minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen. The information was supplied by BBC Brazil.
The reasons for the resignation have not been clarified yet. Hedegaard stated that it would be more appropriate for the meeting to be presided over by the prime-minister, given the presence of so many heads of State in the decisive stages of the event, which is scheduled to end next Friday (18th).
The negotiations remain divided and demonstrations in the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, seem to have gained strength in this final phase. Demonstrators criticise the little progress that has been made towards an agreement. Shortly after a public rally started, this morning, the Danish police claimed to have arrested approximately 100 people, after activists allegedly threatened to break through a police blockade.
At the conference’s headquarters, discussions seem hopelessly stuck on issues such as targets for developed countries and, most of all, financing for long-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
In an interview to British newspaper Financial Times published on this Wednesday, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, went so far as to say that developing countries should leave this objective aside in order to reach an agreement.
Ban Ki-Moon claimed that a final COP-15 agreement may not include the promised financial aid to developing countries. He admitted that he is not certain whether an agreement will be attained regarding long-term financing, and stated that financial aid figures should not be the only topic of discussion, as there are other important issues at stake.
Financial aid from wealthy countries to developing ones is regarded as one of the key elements for an agreement to be reached in Copenhagen (Denmark).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
