Copenhagen Blog - Slogans and pressure - what can Obama expect at COP15?

Written by George Lyon and published in the Steamie blog on Fri 18th Dec 2009

"Global justice now", "COP15, big failure", "One world, one consequence, one will?"

Just some of the slogans and chants being used at the final day of the Copenhagen climate summit. You certainly feel the pressure to deliver as you walk through the main entrance to the Bella Centre where the conference is being held.

People thrust flyers into your hands reminding you of the consequences of a two degree rise in global temperatures. They hold banners that show anything from a polar bear's habitat melting to famine in Africa. Some people even tried to convince me to become a vegan to stop global warming - not the most convincing argument to make to a former President of the NFU.

For me, one of the most moving protests was a group of people who decided to start shaving their heads, angered by the slow progress at the talks. This included young girls with long hair who started crying as it happened.

It is loud, very loud, and can be intimidating.

This is the welcome that President Obama will get when he arrives to address the conference. As if he could forget, he will be reminded by all the protesters that they are counting on him to deliver a global deal. Delegates are expectant, if not necessarily confident, of an agreement being reached by the days end.

The centre of Copenhagen came to a stand still in preparation for his motorcade as I walked from the train station to the conference centre. When he leaves later on this evening, the protesters will know if their slogans were listened to.