For millions of climate campaigners Christmas 2009 was not a very Merry Christmas as Santa Claus failed to bring them the early gift they were all hoping for- a solid world wide agreement on climate action.
COP15 was meant to be the summit that changed everything, the positive tipping point for climate change action. Within days of world leaders arriving in Copenhagen however, it appeared obvious that it was going to end up as yet another talking shop without any real agreements being reached and legislation being set.
So was COP15 a waste of time and money leaving just a massive carbon bill with no goods to show as its legacy? At first look it may seem so and that was the general consensus of the disappointed climate pilgrims as they made their way home from Copenhagen (by train or other low carbon alternatives naturally). It would be easy for these self proclaimed "climateers" to remain deflated, disappointed and despondent but was this the case? Have any silver linings shone through the gloom? Did the summit achieve anything? Has it rallied fighting spirits and convinced activists that even more needs done?
Shamsul is one of the British Council's climate champions (http://www.britishcouncil.org/climatechange-climatechampions.htm ) from Bangladesh. He admits to being frustrated at the lack of progress made in Copenhagen...
"The Copenhagen summit failed to build on the earlier developments namely the Quoto protocol and Bali Action Plan. Even the final outcome had nothing to do with the two week's prior discussions leading to the final day."
Ana Claudia, a Brazilian champion, also admits to discontent and realises this, in part, was due to the high expectations of the summit...
"At the end of COP15 I was a bit disappointed. Mostly because I deposited a huge confidence in this Conference and what I saw was a lot of Global governants just discussing without acting."
It is not hard to see how two such passionate young people could become so disillusioned when you consider the hype that preluded COP15. The summit was billed as the most important event in Climate Change history but the actual outcome, a decision to "take note of" an accord was a million miles away from the legally binding treaty was expected.
So does the lack of a treaty mean nothing was achieved in Copenhagen? An article on the BBC website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8424522.stm) claims not so focussing on the awareness raising achievements of the conference along. It also points out that this event was pioneering in its approach of bringing together the developed and developing world to address the issues of global warming.
Thankfully both the fore mentioned climate champions also recognised that some accomplishments were made, no matter how small. Shamsul believes the old mantra that no press is bad press....
"The positive of COP15 was the immense media coverage of the conference. It might not make a difference instantly but it shall in the long run. Global community became aware of the issue and the desperation of vulnerable countries to strike a deal saving them and saving our earth altogether. The developed world can rest assured that they will ultimately have to succumb to this media-pressure and act in the right direction."
Ana Claudia finds a real silver lining in the cloud of Copenhagen believing that the lack of action by world leaders may actually spur on the general public...
"There are many people that agreed that we have to act and not just wait for our governants - now we have to try to motivate them for a change."
Climate Change is not a new issue and so COP15 was never treated as a starting point. Instead huge expectation and hype was built up around this event and this may in fact have been its greatest downfall. Although it was not the first global climate convention, Copenhagen has clearly made a mark particularly where the media and awareness raising is concerned. Post Copenhagen you would be hard pushed to find an adult anywhere in the world who had never heard the phrase "Climate Change" and this must be considered to be a positive step. However there can be no doubt the time for awareness raising and over a call for positive action is now what is desperately required.
So will the next summit, COP16 in Cancun Mexico later this year be the real history making event or will it be, like its predecessor, "all mouth and no trousers"? Whilst the Champions have built back some of their optimism, they along with the rest of the world's climateers won't be resting all their hopes in that one summit.
Perhaps Shamsul summed it up best when he commented...
"Still the country parties are negotiating on the purview of their national interest rather than the global interest. Since the developed countries quite naturally exercise bigger bargaining power, until they change their mindset about it, it will remain as a waiting game for the poor and affected countries."
Real change requires international agreement coupled with real action and until world leaders start addressing this global issue with a united front, every COP summit will end with dedicated climate pilgrims making their way home disappointed and frustrated. They may have let Copenhagen away with its inconclusive nature but future summits are unlikely to be granted the same luxury.