Conference security denies China’s top climate negotiator entry to the international climate summit

Although security at COP15 venue, the Bella Center, is under enormous pressure due to the thousands of participants, some of the personnel may have to explain why one of the most important attendees was denied access yesterday.

Xie Zhenhua, head of the Climate Change and Coordinating Committee, was refused access to conference not once, but three times.

According to Ritzau news bureau, only half of the accredited 34,000 conference participants have received their entrance badges so far. But Xie reportedly had his badge with him and still could not get into the building.

And the Chinese delegation is not happy about the matter. Su Wei, China’s deputy head negotiator at the summit, tore into COP15 president Connie Hedegaard and UN climate boss Yvo de Boer at yesterday’s plenary session about the humiliating incident, describing it as ‘unacceptable and intolerable’.

De Boer apologised to Su for the mistake, saying it was the second time he had to make amends to the Chinese climate delegation. A similar episode took place at the summit in Bali two years ago, when de Boer called a plenary meeting at a point where the Chinese were tied up in another important meeting.

Circumstances at the Bella Center were already chaotic on Tuesday, as hundreds of frustrated delegates stood in long queues to get into the building – many of whom were denied entrance.

According to Bella Center’s logistics manager, Svend Olling, the venue has a maximum capacity of 18,000 people.

Media, NGOs and other groups are now having the number of their allowable participants cut by security personnel, as the conference is preparing for the arrival of more than 110 heads of state and government next week.

Environmental organisations and NGOs have more than 21,000 registered persons at the conference, in addition to the 8473 official delegates from 191 countries.