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Copenhagen Climate Summit: COP15

Copenhagen Climate Summit: COP15

Copenhagen logo The Sonoma County Water Agency has sent delegates to the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) taking place in Copenhagen from the 7th to the 18th of December, 2009.

Stay tuned to this page for more information, video updates, Twitter, and blog posts from Agency representatives at the conference.

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Video Updates:

SCWA Director Paul Kelley Update, 12/16/09

Valerie Brown and Greg Searle Interview - COP15 2009 Updates, 12/16/09

SCWA Director Paul Kelley Update, 12/15/09

Governor Schwarzenegger talks about local governments climate plans at COP15 - 12/15/09

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Blog Updates:

12/17/09, Post by SCWA Director Paul Kelley

This morning we woke up to a very white city dusted with four to six inches of snow throughout the city. Walking on the sidewalk was a little challenging, but the most challenging thing was getting to the side program center where in the afternoon I was set to make a short presentation on local government partnerships that benefit energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

Because of the snow and the conference drawing to an end it took longer to get to the location of the side programs. We rode in the bus with environment officials from New York and Illinois. We talked to them about local governments and getting state support for programs that benefit the state as well.

When we arrived at the location of the side programs we had to be held outside for about 10 minutes while Hillary Clinton left the building and got into her car. The security detail was pretty big and there were a few cars in her caravan.

This afternoon I was a panelist on the North American Communities Response to Climate Change panel. On the panel with me was a State Legislator, an Air District manager, and a Commissioner of the Maine department of Environmental protection. My portion of the panel was to discuss the local government participation in collaborations that are successful.

Sonoma County has collaborated on the creation of the Sonoma County Energy Independence program. This collaboration of the County, Water agency, and the nine cities has significantly benefited all of Sonoma County. There are energy efficient retrofit, water use efficiency, and renewable energy projects all completed with this program. SCEIP has improved the environment, and benefitted the economy through job preservation. In the presentation, I had someone from Montana and someone from New Jersey ask about the innovative stuff Sonoma County it doing. They both were interested in the SCEIP program, and ways to bring it to their County.

The other key element of the discussion is the Water – Energy nexus. Many local governments are just now seeing the impacts of water on the energy needs of a municipality. As leaders in the move to water conservation throughout Sonoma County – we see the energy use benefits as well. There was interest and receptivity of this issue by those listening to the panel discussion.

Final General Thoughts:

These international conferences can be challenging to navigate around, to get a clear sense of what is being accomplished. This one is no different than any other conferences. Our aim to bring the message of Local government action, and the need for National governments to recognize local governments in any agreements they are discussing, is a success. It appears that the national governments will have a hard time coming to an agreement in Copenhagen – but local governments have come together on an agreement. That agreement is that local government is the key implementer of reducing emissions and that any national agreement must recognize local governments as the viable implementer of an agreement. It is also clear that if local government is the implementer of national agreements, then there needs to be recognition of the funding needs by the implementers. This agreement among local and state governments is clearly a success of the conference, even in the midst of the national governments not coming to agreement.

We in Sonoma County are leading the way with SCEIP, Carbon Free water by 2015, zero-net-energy communities program, and building a nationwide coalition for Applied Solutions. This is an opportunity to compare Sonoma County with other jurisdictions and get information on how to make our programs better in Sonoma County. In some cases we are still leading the way, and there are places where we can learn from others. As I mentioned, we want to do Geothermal heat exchange projects in Sonoma County. I found literature of this being done in Japan, and I am sure it will help us back in Sonoma County.

This has been a successful trip.

Paul Kelley
Follow on Twitter: paulkelley2010

12/17/09, Post by Tim Anderson

COPENHAGEN: Today is Thursday and we've had several inches of fresh snow on the walks today. The snow is beautiful, covering the trees and taking some of the chill out of the arctic air.

Last night we had a meeting with people from Sonderborg, Denmark who are developing a zero-net-energy city. Sonderborg is in many ways like Sonoma County with about 8 small cities in an area comparable in size to Sonoma County. They formed a public-private partnership aimed at moving the whole region to zero-net-energy by 2040. The business model is an innovative approach with local elected officials and corporate leaders serving together on the project board of directors. This could be a good concept for some of the things we need to do back home.

It has been very interesting to compare their approach to zero energy with our own project at the Airport Business Park. Sonderborg is using district heating technologies, solar thermal, waste gasification and deep thermal drilling to meet energy needs. Their program has a LARGE focus on public outreach and education. They work with school children, bring teens in to help with projects and provide office space for teens in their facility. They enlist families to volunteer to be "zero-energy" families. They hoped to get 50 families and had 130 sign up but the goal ultimately is 31,000 families.

We had an opportunity to discuss our work on biogas fuel cells, SCWA has a project to build a six megawatt fuel cell at one of our waste treatment plants. The Danes had experience with this technology and shared some of their problems with operating these devices.

Organizers of the Sonderborg project are developing a global network of zero-energy cities and have partners in China, Sweden and Germany. They list Sonoma County as a part of the global movement.

One impression I would share from this meeting is that, though people in Europe have been engaged in this longer than we have, our programs compare very well with the Danish project. The Agency's work on Carbon Free Water, Zero-energy communities and the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program are viewed with considerable respect here.

I think we have a valuable relationship with friends at Sonderborg and hope we can continue to communicate and exchange information with them.

PS: Regarding ongoing events here. Yesterday protesters blocked access to the main conference area and the police used tear gas to break up demonstrations. They also closed the central train station during the evening rush hour creating considerable chaos throughout the city. We've had to make quick decisions and change plans frequently to get where we need to be. So far we've managed to get by quite well. Heads of state and national leaders started coming in yesterday and security is getting tighter. A few moments ago were delayed by security for Hillary Clinton. It was a thrill to see her at this meeting.

PS PS: Today we rode the bus with the top environment officials from New York and Illinois. We had a great discussion about the cap-and-trade program in New England and the success of the startup and methods to make sure local governments benefit from their voluntary carbon reduction efforts. New York does not provide set asides of allowances but does make an effort to support and fund local programs.

12/16/09, Post By SCWA Director Paul Kelley:

Early breakfast and report from the climate registry. Gary Garo president of the registry reported that there are still many side events at the offsite location of Crown Plaza. They also reported that it would be very difficult to get into the Main Conference Bella Center today. There are still some passes available and some may still be able to get in. The UN is reducing each day the number of ‘observers’ and NGO’s that can get into the conference center.

Tim Anderson and I then caught a train to the Crown Plaza off site side meeting location. We Sat in on the IETA / TCR program “Bridging the Gap: Sub-National Collaboration between developed and developing countries”. Linda Adams – CA EPA Secretary, Robyn Camp of the Climate registry. Feng An – China Energy and climate registry, Minister Line Beauchamp of Quebec. Among others that presented at this workshop. A very interesting program on the unique ways that different local governments in different countries get there work done.

CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley in panel says that the green economy can generate jobs in these challenging times. I had a brief chance to chat with her and she recognizes Sonoma County and our leadership on environmental issues. She said in her talk that there are jobs available in the new Green Economy and that there is a potential for economic boost even now.

I then sat in on a large panel discussing adaptation to Climate change in different economic and government sectors. AG Kawamura is the California Secretary for Agriculture. He was on the panel and talked about the challenges of three years of drought. He said that the key need is rebuilt infrastructure in California that will be nimble and flexible enough to handle changing conditions.

Also on the panel was Jonathan Koehn from Bolder CO. He said: "local government must be a part of any solution, since almost Everyone lives or works in cities". His point was that municipal governments that provide most if not all of the services people need have to be part of any solution the federal government considers for energy or carbon emissions.

We then went to dinner with some Danish folks that are working on the concept of Zero net Energy communities. We have interest in getting information that will be helpful to our zero net energy programs in Sonoma County, especially as it relates to our geothermal exchange program and Zero net Energy business park program.

A general impression of today is a busy fact filled day. It was a day with a lot of information and meetings with people that can help Sonoma County programs. It was a hectic day. Though we didn’t see any of the protests, we heard they were happening near the conference center. The conference center was closed for a period of time and we heard it became near a riot with the protestors. It also took us longer to get back to our Hotel at the end of the day because we ride a train and metro system to get to our hotel. The central station had switching problems, and there was a rumor of a bomb threat that shut down the station. It meant an extra 20 minutes to change stations, trains, subways and finally get to a station that was four blocks from the Hotel.

Follow me on twitter @paulkelley2010

-Paul Kelley

12/16/09, Post By Tim Anderson:

The Climate Registry hosted sessions today on local and regional programs for climate protection. New York State Environment Commissioner Grannis reported a successful start up of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) cap-and-trade program. Auctions of allowances generated $500 million for energy efficiency programs. The RGGI program has become the model for federal legislation. Officials from Illinois, Michigan and Manitoba recounted the process to develop the Mid-Western Climate Initiative. Steve Chester from Michigan said they formed a panel of diverse interest groups to develop a consensus climate plan. He said the group reached consensus quickly despite deep differences of opinion among participants.

Mr. Chester said Michigan sends $18 billion out of state each year to import energy. Any progress in energy efficiency and renewable energy would keep those dollars in-state and benefit local economies. A macroeconomic analysis of Michigan climate plan due out soon will show significant boost for the state economy and jobs. While the Governor's office sees the economic benefits of the program there is public opposition due to expected increases in utility rates.

- Tim Anderson

12/15/09, Post By Tim Anderson:

Today SCWA Director Paul Kelley secured access to the main UN facility at Bella Center and was able to join state dept. He was able to join a US delegation program on transportation and the EPA director gave a presentation. He will join a world mayors briefing later today and another state department meeting.

I joined a tour of an offshore wind energy facility that produces 40MW and has been running steadily since 2000. Met with a commissioner from Maine and had an opportunity to discuss Applied Solutions and other programs. Also met today with Assembly Member Nancy Skinner and had a good discussion on SCEIP, our energy independence program. She was well aware of the program and asked good questions and also asked about Ann Hancock and other folks we knew in common. I also met with an official from a Western Australian renewable power cooperative.

At the moment I am in an IETA seminar on Sectoral approaches.

Tonight we have been invited to a reception with Gov. Schwarzenegger and altogether 2 governors, 2 provincial ministers and 4 other foreign officials of comparable stature.

Tomorrow we have been asked to meet with people from the German State of North Rhine-Westpahlia. The intent is to compare notes on our proposed protocol for local government carbon emissions. We look forward to meeting with them.

- Tim Anderson

12/14/09, Post By Tim Anderson:

SCWA Director Valerie Brown has been able to register for COP-15 programs and is part of a world mayors council program hosted by the Mayor of Copenhagen. On Tuesday she will meet with the US negotiating team to speak for support of local government programs in the Copenhagen agreement. There is also a press conference at 9 am with Mayor Blumberg and a briefing at 3 pm with Governor Schwarzenegger.

Earlier today Governor Schwarzenegger told the Financial Times that it is time for cities and states to take action to protect the climate and not to wait for national governments to reach agreement.

Logistics have been very difficult due to the 30,000 + persons trying to register for the conference. The team is participating in side events organized outside of the main facility as organized by the climate registry and other policy organizations. We were able to meet today with a group of organizations that fund climate protection programs and had a chance to introduce the Agency's Applied Solutions program.

12/14/09, Post By SCWA Director Paul Kelley:

Started the day attending The Climate Registry briefing. The briefing covered the general logistics of Copenhagen and the conference. One key aspect of the conference is that there is a main conference center where the countries meet and discuss aspects of treaties, emissions, and regional differences. There is a hall where many NGO (Non-Government Organizations) have exhibits and show what they are doing. Some even have rooms where they have meetings and presentations. Then there are a couple of hotels that have meeting rooms that host break out updates and briefings. These are also very key to our information exchange and gleaning success stories we can use back home. Since I am representing the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Association of California Water Agencies, my main registration at the conference is with the Climate Registry and my secondary registration is with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).

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