THE CARBON WAR

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The Winning of The Carbon War
Indian environment minister Prakash Javadekar suggests the talks could
roll over into Sunday. “Rich nations will have to show a spirit of accommodation
and flexibility.”
Nigerian environment minister Amina Mohammed spells out what
accommodation and flexibility entail. “The $100bn we are asking for is a signal
from the international community that they are serious about the financing
challenge for climate change”, she says. “We need trillions, not billions. The
first one hundred billion is the signal that trillions will be attainable.”
This is the core of the endgame perfectly summarised. It is all about money.
And not much of it at that, in order to start the ball rolling.
Surely they can’t let the patient die for want of the capex bill for two
giant oilfields, I tell myself. (I speak of Kashagan, the one known in Shell as
Cash-all-gone.)
Then a vital piece of information begins to circulate. President Obama
has been on the phone to President Xi Jinping, and American and Chinese
negotiators have been seen spending suspiciously long in each others’ company.
Just before midnight, a remarkable headline appears on the Reuters wire:
“In final push for landmark climate deal, end of fossil fuel era nears.”
“At the tail end of the hottest year on record, climate negotiators in Paris
will aim on Saturday to seal a landmark accord that will transform the world’s
fossil-fuel-driven economy within decades and turn the tide on global warming.”
Day Thirteen, Saturday 12 th December: I make my way to Le Bourget once
again, hopefully for the last time. I have a Eurostar back to London booked
for this evening.
Outside my hotel, students are gathering for a demonstration 350.org
has planned for today. Similar groups are gathering all over Paris. This one
speaks Dutch and English with Australian accents. They wear red headbands.
The demo is all about red lines, the term climate negotiators use for the issues
they supposedly can’t compromise on. The point is that the demonstrators hope
that red lines have been evaporating at Le Bourget overnight.
So do many people out at Le Bourget.
I find a far-flung spot in the media centre, stock up with food and water,
fire up my screens, and wait. I am surrounded by strangers, sitting amid more
than 3,000 journalists. But this is where I am going to see the most action
I possibly can today.