Climate change groups have criticized Danish police for using heavy-handed tactics. This is because they detained nearly one-thousand people at a rally not far away from the climate change summit happening in Copenhagen. Mel Evans from climate justice action told the BBC that protesters were being kept for hours in freezing conditions without medical attention, water or toilets. Most of the protesters have now been released but some of them would be charged. Tens of thousands marched to pressure COP15 to make decisions about what they do about climate change faster.
Documents have been prepared saying that developed countries need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 25% and 45% of what the levels were in 1990 by 2020. Yesterday the EU joined the US in critizing a draft agreement that says that developing countries would only cut emissions if they received financial help. The EU has offered developing countries £6.5 billion three year deal. The target for limiting temperature rise isn’t clear. The UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) wants to keep the rise below 2 Celsius.
The Police said that an estimated 30,000 people took part in yesterday’s demonstration in Copenhagen, although organizers say it was about 100,000. People chanted and carried banners that said things like “Demand climate justice”, “The world wants a real deal” and “There is no Planet B”. Protests were mainly peaceful but some people threw bricks and smashed windows in the city centre. A person said that the actions of the police were appalling. People were very scared and they were held for about four hours on the ground. They weren’t able to have any medical attention, any water, and weren’t allowed to have any toilet facilities” she told BBC Five Live.
In a statement, Copenhagen police said a large group of protesters had organized themselves in a so-called “black bloc”, in which they put on masks which is an illegal action at a demonstration in Denmark. The officers then decided to “seal off” the group from the march. The force said the large number of arrests had “produced a huge amount of pressure” on officers responsible for transporting, receiving and registering detainees.
Over all it was a bit of chaos but they got there in the end. The police are now trying to work out a better system.
