Danish Government Slammed for Bias and Secrecy in Role as President of UN Climate Conference

A global coalition of civil society organizations, including Friends of the Earth International, issued a statement on December 7, 2009, condemning the Danish government's conduct as President of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties. The groups argue that the Danish Prime Minister undermined democratic UN processes by convening exclusive groups of countries and drafting "Copenhagen Accords" before the meeting began, effectively excluding most nations and ignoring the demands of developing countries. The statement asserts that these actions shift the burden of climate change from developed to developing nations and threaten the potential for a fair and effective agreement in Copenhagen.

• The Danish government is accused of undemocratic practices, specifically convening small, exclusive groups of countries and producing draft "Copenhagen Accords" before the official start of the meeting, which excluded the majority of countries.
• Civil society groups claim the draft texts systematically ignore the needs of developing nations and favor the positions of Denmark and other developed countries, attempting to shift the responsibility for climate change to those most affected by it.
• The Danish Prime Minister is criticized for disregarding developing countries by characterizing the Copenhagen goal as a "political agreement" and incorrectly stating that the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
• The coalition warns that the Danish government's lack of neutrality and transparency undermines the trust necessary for a successful deal and could lead to the collapse of the Copenhagen process.

APA

Fox, A. (2009). Danish Government Slammed for Bias and Secrecy in Role as President of UN Climate Conference. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/2009-12-danish-government-slammed-for-bias-and-secrecy-in-ro/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. Danish Government Slammed for Bias and Secrecy in Role as President of UN Climate Conference. Friends of the Earth, 2009. https://foe.org/blog/2009-12-danish-government-slammed-for-bias-and-secrecy-in-ro/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=Danish Government Slammed for Bias and Secrecy in Role as President of UN Climate Conference |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=8 December 2009 |url=https://foe.org/blog/2009-12-danish-government-slammed-for-bias-and-secrecy-in-ro/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2009danish, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{Danish Government Slammed for Bias and Secrecy in Role as President of UN Climate Conference}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2009}, month = dec, url = {https://foe.org/blog/2009-12-danish-government-slammed-for-bias-and-secrecy-in-ro/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }