The public was invited to an open beer tasting at Carlsberg Brewery of Copenhagen. As the organizer from REEP stated: there were delegates from China, Ghana, India and others getting 'lubricated' and opening up to discussions.
Social events outside of the formal conference can prove to be very important when it comes to diplomatic relations and positive construction towards firmer negotiations.
Also, to show that we werent just there to drink the free beer and eat the weird sausages (tasty though they were) maybe I would like to clarify that REEEP stands for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and the "Company" is a PPP which takes money from certain Developed Countries and implements renewable energy and efficiency schemes in Developed Countries.
ReplyDeleteI was speaking to one of the representatives from REEEP and what I found particularly intersting is the idea that Developing Countries are so very eager for renewable electricity (or rather an energy source of any nature) that there are very little oppositions to the schemes either that a national or local level. Coming from a country where nimbyism is rife, I thought this was great.
He also pointed out that there are so many opportunities and such huge resources in some countries but they just cannot afford the initial investments and so they are very much still reliant on foreign oil. REEEP's renewable projects as well as reducing carbon emissions, remove this reliance on oil and provide greater energy security for the developing countries as well as providing the usual social co-benefits associated with the schemes. He gave me the example of Morrocco which relies 95% on oil despite being one of the windiest and sunniest countries in the world!
More information is obviously avaliable on their website www.reeep.org. Have a read when you get the chance - its a good read I think.