Oleg it Be!

Here in Bonn, though it seems that there has been admirable progress in the Durban Platform, and critical bilateral progress between China and the USA, I have been deeply saddened by the stalemate that seems to have flooded the first week of negotiations in the SBI.

As such, I send out this message, direct from John Lennon to the head of the Russian delegation. Please Honorable representative of Russia… let it be.

…

Watching on from afar as this week, it seems the SBI negotiations have spiraled down the drain of a clogged negotiating room. A blockage, made from frustration. A breech in the chinks of the UNFCCC armory that opened up in the ‘consensus’ of Doha. While desperately searching for a conclusion, Doha ended with one country, and one Lead negotiator vowing that they had been hard-done-by. And I don’t blame them.

I remembered back then, only 6 months ago. As the Kyoto Protocol looked nothing more than a cleared construction site, waiting for its foundations to be renewed, watching the negotiations drift round the weekend’s corners, I wondered if Russia, Poland and the Ukraine’s objections would blow the whole convention over. But as the caucus came to its surprise ending, with Russia still standing in objection I really felt they had been unfairly treated. Yet, as this week dragged on like a flat tyre lumbering up hill, I hope these reinterpreted words of one of the great peace seekers sung here, will bring sense, solace and serenity to the SBI in its second week.

For all of those who continue to object, please, just let it be.