Hopenhagen ? – A City in a Cloak of Hope
Dr. Orr Karassin reports from the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
Dr Karassin is the Chairperson of the KKL-JNF Delegation to the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and MERCAZ Olami representative on the KKL Board of Directors
In honor of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the city of Copenhagen had an especially optimistic ambience, despite the cold weather characteristic of December. Despite the optimism, it could be said that the conference planners miscalculated in bringing the world's policy makers about the decade's most important conference on global warming, to the Danish frost. Situating this conference in the Sahara Desert may have resulted in a less amiable conference - but a more effective one…
While the heated, official discussions stopped for a break on Sunday, life in the city continued to bustle in an especially Green, environmental way. For the Danes, the largest political conference in their country provided an opportunity to turn their capital, which is anyway green all year long, into a display of advanced environmental technologies, particularly in the field of transportation. In the city center, electric car manufacturers, assembled in an open air exhibition, complete with manufacturers' explanations. Shai Agassi's "Better Place" (their electric powered Renault vehicle is pictured above left at the Copenhagen conference) from Israel went on display near the Copenhagen City Hall with several others that illustrated how the world is creating different, even odd, variations on the theme of electric cars.
One interesting example is the "Move About" company, amongst the first electric car-sharing initiatives in Europe, aiming to reduce toxic emission by simply reducing the number of cars on the road.
The interesting BMW "Hydrogen Seven," actually defined as a commercial vehicle, is fueled by liquid hydrogen cooled to -253ºC, that, when driven, emits only water. One hundred such cars have already been manufactured and distributed to fortunate people in several countries. Andreas Klugescheid, BMW spokesperson, said that "there are still technological hurdles that the company will overcome to produce a commercial car on a large scale in 3-5 years, such as the hydrogen fuel tank, which is made of cast metal rather than plastic, the insulation of the liquid hydrogen from the rest of the car, the accumulated pressure in the fuel tank which must be released every few days and the deployment of hydrogen fuel stations."
Visitors to the city center may choose to experience a "conference cab" – a multi-wheeled round bicycle that enables those cycling on it to converse on a sort of "roundtable" while traveling. One may imagine that it is difficult to cycle in circles, but it is certainly a very social option for those who feel solitary when cycling.
The Greenpeace ship also arrived in Copenhagen, anchoring in the famous Nyhavn Canal next to many old fishing boats that regularly anchor there and, despite the large poster against global warming, between its masts, blending rather well with the local scenery.
The city offered several open air art-exhibitions on themes of sustainability, environment and climate and despite the cold, the art and photography attracted many visitors – at least for a short time.
The city of Copenhagen is now decked in the hope that the world leaders will negotiate until the forthcoming global agreement on carbon emission cuts is completed. Only an ambitious and binding agreement will give the world the hope it so desperately needs.
Dr Karassin at the Climate Conference
Below you can find further articles and news reports from the KKL-JNF team at the Copenhagen Climate Conference
