UN climate conference accused of 'snubbing' civil society

Organisers of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen have been accused of "snubbing" civil society groups and NGOs.

The attack comes after the UN decided that access to the conference should be restricted from Tuesday.

One of the reasons cited is that the event is grossly oversubscribed and far more people want to gain access to the Bella Centre, the conference venue, that it can legally hold.

But civil society groups, NGOs and other non-governmental representatives say this means they will be unable to attend the most important period of the two-week talks.

The centre holds a maximum of 1500 people but Danish law says attendance can only go near that limit, not reach it, hence the decision to restrict access to entrance badges for NGOs from Tuesday.

A source with the UK National Farmers Union, which has a delegation in Copenhagen, said the move was controversial because a wide range of "constituents" are meant to be observing the negotiations but have had to make way for government ministerial entourages instead.

"You need two badges to get in and they are only giving a second badge for certain people from today onwards," said the source.

"People are saying that civil society has been neglected and that this should not be a vanity exercise for politicians with huge entourages. The organisers agree that it is important for 'constituencies' to be represented but say that they can't do anything about it."

In a separate move, Ajay Vashee, president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, told the conference he was "disappointed" that the UN's chief climate negotiator Yves de Boer "didn't have time" to meet the public at the civil society session on Monday. It was the third time he had cancelled.

Responding to civil society anger, a UN spokesman said, "The UN regrets the long delays today for people wishing to gain access or pick up accreditation at the Bella centre and is doing all it can to alleviate further delays.

"Over 45,000 people have applied to attend the conference, three times more than its capacity. 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.

"The UN accredited a total of around 3500 new delegates (on Monday).

"UN security is in contact with the Danish police to help speed identification of those already accredited and wishing to enter into the venue.

"The access to the venue for NGOs will be controlled by the existing quota system to allow balanced access by NGO organisations. NGO representatives are given over half of the capacity of the Bella Centre, more than ever before at a climate conference.

"As of Tuesday only NGO organisations that have the secondary badges issued will be able to enter the Bella centre."

He added, "The UN retains full access to the centre for government delegations. It also retains full access for press who have already been accredited.

"The UN will work to ensure prompt access and accreditation within the venue, inside the limits of physical capacity."

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