Uncertainty, Surprises and suspense at UNO's 1st Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen ..

  *Copenhagen/Angelo Marcopolo/-  "Nobody knows" now what will be the outcome, warned from the outset a well informed source from UNO's 1st Summit  of Heads of State and Government on the figfht against Global Climate Change, speaking to "EuroFora" when we were preparing to be there on Friday, at the last, concluding day, leaving 'EU Parliament's session in Strasbourg, after Brussels EU Council's Summit, who both send strong messages throughout the World on Europe's will to act united for a vital Global issue affecting all Humankind, (Comp. earlier "EuroFora""s newsrrepots from the spot).

 Strange "welcome" at Copenhagen to "EuroFora"s Airplane from Strasbourg, unexpectedly landing at a landscape covered by ...whte Snow : - "It just started to fall from last night, and now everything is covered", told us a lady from Africa, whose friends were complaining about "drought" while a snowy Bus was bringing us to the far away area of UNO's Global Summit against Global Warming...

"Hot" like a spicy Latin American red pepper, Chavez, Venezuela's President, multiplied strong denunciations of what he called "the attempt by some to impose" their "solution", both in a speech to UNFCCC's plenary and in a loud Press Briefing, together with several other Latino-American leaders, where, however, he chose to speak much more "against Capitalism" than anything else. "It's the big, rich, capitalist developed countries that are destroying the planet's climate, Chavez claimed. However, he didn't leave Copenhagen, where negotiations continue.

But, astonishingly almost all other Press Conferences initially scheduled for this afternoon were .. "cancelled" at the last minute !

After China cancelled first its Press Briefing, it was the turn of Spain, the incoming 2010 EU Chair, followed by EU Commissioner Barroso, etc. and "finally" even by UNO's Organisation on Cliimate Change itself, as its Spokesman, Eric Hall anounced : 

- While he was preparing a big Press Conference from the Danish Chair of UNO's Summit, Hall suddenly changed stance after a mobile phone call with the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen. - "Go get a coffee and relax  a bit", he was obliged to friendly advise the journalists vainly gathered around the briefing room for fresh news...

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But the biggest surprise for journalists was to see, suddenly.. US President Obama, cross the empty Press Briefing room at a fast pace, closely folllowed by US State Secretary Hilary Clinton : Despite a massive rush by photographers, Obama, a well-trained former Chicago basket-ball player, was unfortunately faster, and "disappeared" inside an inaccessible complex of various meeting rooms..

Such an overall ambiance inevitably multiplied various rrumours : F.ex. many undated "Draft" texts were circulating at the Press room, supposedly presenting a moment and/or a party in the Global process of negotiations discreetly going-on.

 - "I feel confused", said to "EuroFora" the experienced President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. "We had a quite long pause", she observed, wandering if Heads of State could leave today, as initially scheduled, or tomorrow, since she did not exclude an eventual extension of UNO's Summit until a positve and useful result.

- "May be we shall know on a couple of Hours", Hallonen guessed.

- "Anyway, what is positive, compared to previous Summits, is that noone walked out",  the experienced Finnish President observed to "EuroFora", clearly indicating that leaders, conscious of what is really at stake, despite any disagreements, are trying to shape an agreement.

Meanwhile, the French President Sarkozy, together with the German Chanceellor Merkel, were reportedly muptiplying Top-level meetings at variouis formats among some 120 Heads of State and Government, trying to save UNO's mega-gathering from a risk of failure, particularly after some felt that neither the US nor China really advanced yet far enough from their initial positions

According to informed sources from the Danish Chair of the Global Copenhagen Summit speaking to "EuroFora", Obama was meeting with the Chinese President Jiao, while most of tha parties to UNO's Global Conference were reportedly discussing in at least 3 Groups of Countries "upstairs", over the head of thousands of Journalists from all over the World in a Gigantic Media and Congress center at Copenhagen's snowy outskirts, not far away from the Northern Sea-coast.

Thus, definitively droping the initial schedule for a "finale" at 6 p.m. on Friday, UNFCCC was apparently heading towards either a late midnight show, or, may be another day of Top Talks for Earth's Cliimate future tomorroiw, Saturday, with more clear heads.

Precautious, UNO's Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had already scheduled that his stay to Copenhagen was not only up to Friday 18th, but until Monday December 21...                      

But, unprepared, the active CoE's Director for Environment, Landscape, Spatial planning and Cultural Heritage, Maguelonne Dejeant-Pons, who was at Copenhagen for one among the international meetings evolving in parallel to UNFCCC'(s Summit, told "EuroFora", that, after a Conference on "Sustainable Cities", she had to return tonight to Strasbourg because, as it happened to many other people, her airplane was already "booked". Just the time for a photograph, the experienced PanEuropean Top Official sharply observed, speaking to "EuroFora", that, in fact, the necessary Climate protection should also take into account all other values, such as Cultural Heritage and Landscape protection, as well as Spatial Planning: In fact, People's well being needs a multifacet approach, she advised.

 A "luxury", for the colored lady describing People's sufferings from African drought at snowy Copenhagen ?

 (See supra).

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(NDLR : Exceptionally, this scene-setting short piece is published as an immediately open draft version, before main "EuroFora" News, due asap, in the usual  format).

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