The last two weeks have been the moment the whole world has been waiting for: the gathering of world leaders in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference held some real hope, at least for awhile, that climate change could finally start being addressed on an international, and cooperative, level. But the conference is just about over, and not a whole lot came of it except stalled meetings and frustrated hands thrown in the air.
The rift between developed and developing nations has proven greater than any compromise offered by leaders, and the biggest agreement from the talks might just be to... come to an agreement later.
On a brighter side, however, a few major players have emerged from the talks—some expected leaders on climate change, some names you might be surprised to see were even in Denmark for the talks, and other names you may never have heard of. Find out who's leading the way on climate change when the most powerful elected leaders in the world aren't necessarily doing so.
In no particular order...
1. Bolivian President Evo Morales
Photo above-right
By some measures, he made the most ambitious statement to come out of Copenhagen when he demanded not only that world leaders agree to limit the global temperature increase over the next century to 1 degree C, but that rich countries should pay climate change 'reparations,' and proposed a climate court of justice, where countries could be prosecuted for climate 'crimes.' Morales said, "Our objective is to save humanity and not just half of humanity. We are here to save mother earth. Our objective is to reduce climate change to [under] 1C. [above this] many islands will disappear and Africa will suffer a holocaust."
2. Mohamed Nasheed
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| Sipa via AP Images |
He rose to global environmental fame when he held an official Maldives cabinet meeting underwater in October to bring attention to the devastating impact that climate change will have on low-lying coastal and small island nations such as his. Now he's part of the global climate change conversation, a major player at Copenhagen, and an eco-rock star.
3. John Kerry
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| Sipa via AP Images |
You all know who he is. But you may not have expected him to put out one of the best quotes of the conference: "If (former Vice President) Dick Cheney can argue that even a 1 percent chance of a terrorist attack is 100 percent justification for preemptive action, then surely, when scientists tell us that climate change is nearly a 100 percent certainty, we ought to be able to stand together...and join in an all out effort to combat a mortal threat to the life of this planet."
4. Thom Yorke
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| Photo by Getty Images |
Creating a most surprising presence at Copenhagen, the Radiohead frontman can be a little less diplomatic—and he was. He asked world leaders to "get their shit together" on climate change, and since he's earned a little street cred when it comes to environmental activism, we hope they were listening.
5. Hillary Clinton
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| AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus |
The sometimes controversial figure has spearheaded some of the real (if sparse) progress in Copenhagen, according to Oxfam International, who had this to say earlier this week: "We are heartened by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's commitment to significant financial resources of $100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help developing countries weather the negative impacts of climate change."
6. Naomi Klein
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| AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer/HA |
Less pleased with Hillary Clinton was Naomi Klein, the journalist who brought activism to the mainstream with her book No Logo and has been pumping reports out of Copenhagen since before the conference started.
7. Tom Vilsack
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| AP Photo/ Haraz N. Ghanbari |
Part of the U.S. delegation to Copenhagen, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack gave a keynote speech on how clean energy investments are creating opportunities for rural economies, and championed perhaps one of the only solid achievements of the conference, the pledge to fight deforestation.
8. Bill McKibben
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| AP Photo/Toby Talbot |
McKibben, the man who made 350 a world-famous number that we all (except the deniers) can agree on, has carried his message from the grassroots into the official discussions at Copenhagen.
9. Kumi Naidoo
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| Janette Pellegrini/WireImage/Getty Images |
The (very recently appointed) executive director of Greenpeace has emphasized the role that activists have played in bringing climate change to the public eye, and has tirelessly called for a "Fair, Ambitious and Binding 'treaty.' Not a 'deal' or 'agreement' but a 'treaty' that will set us on the path to averting catastrophic climate change.
10. Nnimmo Bassey
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| Matthew McDermott |
Chair of Friends of the Earth International and Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey brought the perspective of less-developed countries to bear by saying things like, "the impression that we came to COP 15 to beg for money is wrong, no we came to ask for climate justice, since Africa in particular has been put in a critical crisis situation we did not cause." He was refused entry into the Bella Center, which sparked outrage about the restricted access in general, but was eventually allowed in, only to be disappointed by the week's end that "nothing new" had come of the conference.
11. Lula da Silva
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| AP Photo/Heribert Proepper |
Always a ruckus-causer, the Brazilian President kept the pressure on in Copenhagen to keep pushing for progress. He vowed that Brazil would contribute to a medium-term financing pool for developing countries if a final climate agreement can be reached, but he was skeptical—even a little sarcastic—about what good can come from procrastinating on reaching that agreement. "I'm not sure if some angel or some wise man will come down to this plenary and will put in our minds the intelligence that we lacked up until now," said Lula. "I don't know if that's going to be possible."
12. Pablo Solon
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| AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi |
Bolivia's ambassador to the UN was less than pleased with the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's suggestion of allowing a global temperature increase of 2 degrees C. (Small island states and other vulnerable nations want the target set at 1.5 degrees C, with the more ambitious calling for 1 degree C.) Following Ki-Moon's announcement at Copenhagen, Solon said, "The scientists tell us that 2C offers a 50-50 chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. That is not good enough."
13. Activists
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| AP Photo/Jens Dresling/POLFOTO |
They've gotten some of the most attention in the press—though not always positive, as Bill McKibben predicted months before the conference even started. Yes, it's a simpler way for media to cover the conference without actually covering it, but if you dig deeper, the activists on the streets, outside of the highly-policed (so much so that the chair of the conference even had trouble getting inside) Bella Center, have brought some of the most important issues to bear.
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