Copenhagen, the city where green matters
When I boarded KLM flight Number 4163 in mid June at Entebbe Airport, en route to Copenhagen, I had no idea what awaited me in the Danish capital. I was travelling on a Danish Fellowship ticket to train in media work at the United Nations Climate Summit in December. 19 journalists from developing countries had been invited.
...In all, there was one journalist from Vietnam, two from Brazil, three from Bhutan, one from India, one from Bangladesh, one from Gambia, two from South Africa, two from Kenya, one from Ghana, two from Tanzania, one from El Salvador, one from Malawi, and myself. The three week training had begun.
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At the Climate Change Street in Copenhagen, I was amazed to find shops that sold only environmentally friendly and organic products.
We visited the huge Danish Parliament building, where the ultra modern elevator never stops running
...The United Nations Climate Summit, known as COP 15, will probably be the most important Conference of the 21st Century. This is because the very survival of the human race depends on climate.
The nations who got rich by polluting the world’s climate are expected to cut back on carbon emissions. They are also expected to invest in environmentally friendly technology and help developing nations cope with the effects of climate change.
But even at our meetings, there was already scepticism as to whether rich nations like the US, Japan, Europe, India, China , Brazil and Russia will own up to their “crimes” of endangering the earth’s ecosystem and the life it supports.
While in Denmark, I got surprised at the level of environmental consciousness of the whole population. If only the whole world were like this! I felt so sad that we take environmental issues so lightly back in Uganda.
Our course finally came to an end and we returned to our respective countries to spread the gospel of responsible management of our environment and the earth’s climate.
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