A night at Klimaforum - the alternative people's summit

While thousands of delegates are descending upon the Bella Centre in Copenhagen for the UN negotiation summit, a couple of miles away in the heart of downtown, delegates are gathering for a different kind of summit.

Klimaforum, aka the Peoples' Climate Summit is billed as an "open space where people, movements and organizations from all over the World can meet discuss and develop a constructive response to the climate crisis."

The conference focuses on issues such as gender-related and indigenous perspectives, human rights, activism and tactics and climate justice.

Tonight at the opening ceremonies, Canadian journalist Naomi Klein addressed the international delegates with some bold words about Canada and the negotiations, mentioning at time she can be embarrassed by the country, saying that how Canadians shouldn't be sewing the maple leafs on their bags this time around, and targeted the tar sands.

She also had harsh words for the negotiations itself.

"What is going on at the Bella Centre is the worst case of disaster capitalism that I have seen," she said to the crowded room.

She suggested to the audience that she wasn't sure if the carbon emissions spewed in her flight coming to Copenhagen were worth it for a conference that is not even considering the proposals that will actually be needed to solve the climate crisis, however, she said she found hope in the activist movement.

"In Copenhagen, activists have come of age," she said.

Comments

[Rizvi]

Good Jasmeet