Federal ministry informs citizens Climate conference facilities taking form
BONN · The Federal Ministry for Environment was at the Rheinaue, providing citizens with information about restrictions imposed by the COP 23 climate conference. The temporary village grows day by day.
The temporary container village in the Rheinaue for the COP 23 climate conference is growing day by day. Patrick Gehlen and Britt Schumann look down from the hill to the big Blumenwiese green area and listen to the hammering and other sounds from workers. “We often take our lunch break here. It’s amazing how quickly it’s going,” they comment.
The structures are going up to enhance the conference center around the WCCB and “Langer Eugen” for the UN Climate Change Conference running November 6 to 17.
The Federal Ministry of the Environment had just announced the day before that it would set up an information stand near the temporary facilities to inform interested citizens about what to expect from COP 23. Ronja Lüke and Sabrina Witter went to the park on behalf of the ministry to check it out. A lunch snack was offered to citizens and they could get information if they so desired.
"Most of them are happy that the climate conference takes place here", explain the two.Answering a question, they explain that the Südbrücke (South Bridge) will remain open for both rail traffic and cars. The car park at the main entrance will be closed off as it will be used for utility vehicles, but pedestrians and cyclists can continue to visit the Rheinaue, apart from the fenced off conference area.
The conference is a great opportunity for Bonn
“We want the input and the viewpoints of the people who live here,” said Anatol Itten, who is responsible for the public relations work of COP 23 in his role with the ministry. This explains the impetus for the information campaign. Spokesperson for the City of Bonn, Monika Hörig stresses that there will be more information on topics such as traffic and security in the coming weeks, and that this information would be made public.
But both Itten and Hörig agree that exact procedures and logistics had to be established before a major information offensive took place. A background note on how the conference came to Bonn: The Fiji Islands currently holds the presidency at the UN but it was too small to host the event. It hasn’t even been a year since Bonn was named to host the climate conference. That’s a short time to prepare for 25,000 guests.
One citizen expresses concern about being able to get to work using the new UN Campus stop, or if there might be issues. “I wanted to know how big the security zone would be, but I did not get an exact answer.” Like Gehlen and Schumann, he is anxious to see how big the security operation will be after the summit in Hamburg was overshadowed by violence. In principle, they consider the climate conference a great opportunity for Bonn. Marc Müller, a federal employee in the area feels that one must also be able to accept a restriction here or there.
On Saturday, September 16, the federal ministry will be at the Rheinaue flea market with information about the COP 23.
Orig. text: Philipp Königs
Translation: ckloep
