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Penelope Ward, reporting from Copenhagen

Excitement and nervous energy turned to frustration and angst as thousands waited outside the Bella Centre, with NGOs, IGOs, media and official party delegates all swarming around the centre to get to work. With the heads of state of 192 countries arriving this week, security has been tightened and any forms of unrest are quickly suppressed.

Over 100,000 protesters fill the streets of Copenhagen with life, colour and noise. “A large, colourful and beautiful showing of humanity, of people’s desire for climate justice,” says Brianna Cotter spokesperson for the AVAAZ Action Factory.

After a weekend of cultural activities galore including the Flood Copenhagen march of over 100,000 people through the city’s heart, climate concerts, film festivals and flash actions filling the city with a new energy. Snow began to fall across the city yesterday, but just as the temperature drops, things are just starting to heat up inside the Bella Centre.

Inside the centre, the Australian Youth Delegation met with Penny Wong in Australia’s head office, with a warm and encouraging reception by the Climate Change Minister. They asked how the government planned to protect vulnerable communities against climate catastrophe, and whether Australia would be ready to take a leading role -- the Minister answered carefully while giving little away. The Minister took a more realistic line, “these are negotiations, not a supermarket”, and indicating compromises were inevitable.

Minister Wong did recognise the time had come for “more actions than words”, and said the government was conscious of viewing climate change “through the prism of disadvantage”, inflicted on the most vulnerable Australians and Pacific Islanders.

The Australian Youth Delegation tell leaders to “wake up”, in their bed-in action outside the plenary hall on the anniversary of John Lennon’s death singing, “all we are saying is cut greenhouse gas, all we are saying is give youth a chance”.

The youth presence has been reduced this week however, with numbers being restricted to 15,000 for “security reasons”. While last week saw hundreds of spot actions including a Sleep-In, Candle Vigil with Desmond Tutu, Freeze Protest, songs and chants and other creative actions, the Bella Centre this week has been flooded again with suits, laptops and rich foreign  accents.

Outside the centre, ‘climateers’ are continuing their fight and raising their voice louder. With anti-riot powers under new Danish legislation in full force, police say they will not make unnecessary arrests but warn protesters to engage in peaceful activities as much as possible.

The vibe in Copenhagen changes constantly. From hopeful optimism in the lead-up to unyielding resilience in the days following, to gradual disenchantment -- people are now hoping the arrival of the heads of state this week will see some serious moving and shaking in the negotiation chambers. The intensified security levels certainly suggest something big is coming.

The AVAAZ Action Factory is looking at increasing the level of large, colourful and vibrant actions to keep leaders on their toes.

“This week we are focusing on drawing attention to vulnerable communities and developing countries, by way of rapid-response creative actions,” says Brianna Cotter, media spokesperson.

“We want to provide some translation between policy and humanity”, she said, by focusing on the humanitarian aspects of the crisis, of the stakes if a fair, ambitious and binding agreement is not reached this week.

So what should we expect to see this week? Well, we can await the media frenzy that will come with the arrival of political celebrities including Kevin Rudd, and Barack Obama. The most important meeting of humanity this century? Quite possibly.

All seem to recognise a need to prevent or correct an irreversible climate crises. An effective meeting of the minds by humanity’s leaders? Only time will tell. As Penny Wong says, we must await for this exchange of words to be followed by concrete actions by states.

I overheard a quote in passing yesterday, “nature cannot negotiate, we must negotiate on its behalf”.  And today (Dec14), the games officially begin. Let us hope that amid the power-play and media frenzy of it all, it is nature who wins at the end of the day.

Other Copenhagen related news

Local action starts as Copenhagen talks continue

Copenhagen: delegates urged to be visionary, courageous

What Rudd and Wong should take to Copenhagen

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