Europe

David Corn, Special to the Pulitzer Center

This article originally ran as a special to Mother Jones

"It's not about the money."

Youth activists were beaten by police this morning in Copenhagen after they marched out of the Bella Center, shouting "Reclaim power!" and "Climate justice now!"

During the second week of the COP15 talks in Copenhagen, the number of activists allowed to attend the talks has been drastically reduced. By Friday, when President Obama arrives, the number of nongovernmental "observers," the UN group to which most of the activists belong, will be reduced to just 90.

Youth activists were beaten by police this morning in Copenhagen after they marched out of the Bella Center, shouting "Reclaim power!" and "Climate justice now!"

During the second week of the COP15 talks in Copenhagen, the number of activists allowed to attend the talks has been drastically reduced. By Friday, when President Obama arrives, the number of nongovernmental "observers," the UN group to which most of the activists belong, will be reduced to just 90.

Jeffrey Barbee, for the Pulitzer Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

Fasting for Climate Change
William Wheeler: Producer/Editor
Anna-Katarina Gravgaard: Producer/Videographer

Robert S. Eshelman, special to the Pulitzer Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

This article ran as a special to The Nation

COP15 negotiations were once again brought to a halt today when poor nations walked out of a morning plenary, accusing developed countries of ignoring their calls for greater emissions cuts and engaging in a secretive process that leaves no possibility for agreement.

Jeffrey Barbee, for the Pulitzer Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

Jeffrey Barbee, for the Pulitzer Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

Saturday's mass march to the Bella Center, where climate talks are ongoing, was boisterous and colorful, but largely peaceful.

I expect that the tone of the demonstrations will shift in the next week as climate activists make a last-ditch push for a strong treaty. Climate Justice Action, an anti-corporate network, is calling on activists to disrupt the negotiations at the Bella Center next Wednesday and to transform it into an assembly open to all:

"Copenhagen: Reports from COP15" is a gateway to stories from Pulitzer Center-sponsored journalists working from the ground in Denmark to cover the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

This December, the Conference of the Parties (COP) is meeting with the challenge of instituting a new global climate change agreement to take over after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Join these five reporting teams in Copenhagen as they report on the difficulties and triumphs of crafting an agreement with global ramifications.

The Copenhagen Conference, where I arrived today, is hard to describe, because so much is happening here and the stakes of this climate negotiation are so high. Outside, a persistent crowd of protesters chanted environmental slogans. Two young Asian woman strutted in chicken suits. Many others men and women of all different races and nationalities waved placards and signs. A bus-size screen showed environmental movies. (Look at my video of one activist promoting vegetarian eating to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas produced.

Jeff Barbee, for the Pulitzer Center
Copenhagen, Denmark

Five in the afternoon in downtown Copenhagen, billed as "Hope-nhagen."