Chaos continues at climate conference

A report at the link below says the the Copenhagen climate change conference appeares to be imploding from within and exploding from without on Wednesday.

Police fired tear gas, brandished batons and detained more than 200 protesters who tried to push through the security cordon around the Bella Center, as negotiations inside bogged down, for the second time this week, over differences between China and the West over emissions, funding issues and transparency.

The photo above shows protestors turning violent at the climate conference. Since the conference started about 1,000 protestors have been arrested.

Senator John Kerry, the highest-ranking American yet to appear at the talks, urged attendees to put aside their differences and “make Friday our day of success.”

The report says that minutes earlier -- in a surprise move that captured growing uncertainty over conference -- Denmark’s climate minister, Connie Hedegaard, stepped aside as president of the conference, handing the gavel to Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, as head of the host country.

Outside, Danish police — who have been accused of heavy-handedness by human rights groups — clashed with thousands of environmental activists who descended on the complex from a nearby train station and demanded entry to the Bella Center.

BBC video showed truncheon-bearing Danish police shoving the crowd backward as protesters gasped and covered their faces to avoid breathing tear gas.

Inside it wasn’t much better as U.N. officials revoked the credentials of about 100 accredited members of the green group Friends of the Earth for staging a series of small protests on Tuesday.

Minutes after taking the gavel, Rasmussen angrily denounced developing countries for seeking to delay consideration of the text, accusing them of focusing on "procedure, procedure, procedure."

He was immediately rebuked by a representative of China, a member of the G-77 bloc, who said moving forward too quickly was tantamount to "obstructionism" and a bullying attempt by the West.

I find it amusing that a representative of China, a country referred as a ‘developing nation’ by leaders of the climate summit, is lecturing the Danish Prime Minister and new host of the conference!

With raucous behavior inside as well as outside, the climate conference is becoming more entertaining by the day. Pop some popcorn and kick back in that recliner. Who knows what will happen between now and Friday.

Link