ABSTRACT
The Kyoto conference was the biggest and most high-profile event on the international environment since the Rio Earth Summit itself, more than five years previously. The United States alone brought almost a hundred people in its official negotiating delegation; they in turn were swamped by the entourage of industry and environmental NGOs seeking to lobby them. Almost 10,000 people attended in all. Ministers from around the world flew in, including the UK Deputy Prime Minister and, more briefly, US Vice-President Al Gore. In contrast, some European NGOs travelled for six weeks in a 'climate train' across Siberia, making the point about the emissions from air travel generated by such a massive gathering. The media swarmed, anxious for every morsel of gossip about the progress of negotiations.
