Copenhagen 14 December - Just over 45, 200 delegates and observers have registered for the international climate change meeting in Copenhagen, which has now entered day eight. This amount is almost 30,000 more than what Bella Centre can accommodate. The centre has the maximum capacity of only 15,000. The United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat has apologised for what appears to the logistical breakdown.
“I know this is disappointing but we must cut down on the numbers to maintain the functionality of the meeting, said an executive of the UNFCCC.
“We did not expect this avalanche of participants.
“This morning, thousands of people queued in the long line outside the conference centre, some waiting in line for over two hours. The UN and the Danish government have now devised a system to monitor access into the conference venue.
“Of the 22,747 registered observers, a big number of which are non governmental organisations, we will now only allow 1,000 of their representatives to attend the meetings on a daily basis.
“The quota per NGO’s will be on a rotating basis, said the UNFCCC executive. As of today, Monday (14 December), a total of 45,215 have been registered and accredited to attend COP15.
Of this number, 11,500 are part delegates, over 22,700 are observers (including NGOs), 3,487 media and 2,400 technical, secretariat and security personnel.
“This is clearly overwhelming for Bella Centre.”
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