No wonder the negotiations are stalling in Copenhagen when the UN Secratary General Ban Ki-Moon doesn’t even know how much CO2 is emitted in a year.

In this video he states “This cube represents 1 ton of carbon dioxide, 80 million tons are emitted every year…”. The UK emits 560 million tons on it’s own every year!

If you watch the second video, the Millennium Art CO2 CUBE the video was recorded for, the mistake is conveniently edited out!

Clearly this is just a verbal typo, in that he meant to say “…each day…” but you have to think that maybe, if they put a little more effort into getting things right, rather than seeming to get things right, the negotiations might be going a bit better.

Brilliant article on the Guardian’s Comment is Free section by Jubilee Debt Campaign‘s Nick Dearden about authorities in Copenhagen silencing dissent at the COP15 talks. Read it. http://bit.ly/7ug1se

I work for a non-profit organisation called 1 Minute to Save the World that runs a competition short film of the same name. On the 8th of December we were screening a selection of the films, the winners and some of the best runners-up, at the Palace of Westminster. As Campaigns Manager I was required to attend but was stopped from doing so by the Serjeant-at-Arms.

Back in October I was arrested near the Palace of Westminster under section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for tresspass in a designated area. I was granted bail with the condition that I not go within 100m of the Palace of Westminster. Now this might sound like a fairly serious obstacle in the way of attending the screening this evening, however I there was a potential route around this. I applied, through my solicitor, for a bail variation, basically permission to go to Westminster for 4 hours that evening on the invitation of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group.

I was told this morning that my application had been refused on the grounds that I might re-offend. After making a few enquiries it turned out that, regardless of whether I was granted a variation or not, the Serjeant-at-Arms would not allow me to enter the building. It was even offered that I would be escorted and at all times accompanied by a security guard or police officer but this was also refused.

I was then told that during the screening three “..large and burly…” police men turned up with spotter cards and scanned the audience looking for me in case I had snuck in. So much for the police changing their tactics and approach to peaceful demonstrators!