COP15

Activists target carbon traders’ gathering in Copenhagen from stoor zender on Vimeo.

December 14, COP15

Activists staged a protest against the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), who today had their Annual General Meeting in the Copenhagen city center. 

60 Activists from around Europe and abroad brought the message to IETA members: “CO2-traders = Climate criminals”. Three ‘monks’ offered carbon credits as absolution for carbon sins to IETA members going in, and to the public. 

IETA is the biggest industry lobby group present at the COP15 negotiations, bringing in 486 lobbyists. Their aim is the creation of a global market for greenhouse gas emissions, including the use of highly controversial offsetting projects through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). However, current carbon trading schemes like the ETS have proven not to reduce emissions, but largely generate profits for these companies. Offsetting and the CDM have been severely criticised because it allows rich countries to avoid making emissions cuts at home. There is strong evidence that many CDM projects are creating serious social and environmental problems in developing countries.

IETA embodies a large number of ‘climate profiteers’ like BP, Chevron, Rio Tinto, Deutsche Bank, Fortis Bank, KPMG and Deloitte and Touche. The IETA delegation at COP15 is headed by Henry Derwent, who is well connected in political circles, since he previously worked for the UK Department for the Environment. 

For its massive and climate-unfriendly lobbying, IETA has been nominated for the ‘Angry Mermaid Award’. The winner of the award has been made public on December 15th by Naomi Klein: Monsanto.

Friday 11 December, anti-corporate actions were taken around town under the slogan “Don’t buy the Lie”. On this day, business was having a special day in the same building, the headquarters of Danish Industry (DI).