Copenhagen spends protocol money on climate scholarships

BRUSSELS - The Danish government is paying for 11 scholarships on climate change studies instead of buying pens and gadgets for the participants of the upcoming UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen.

The COP15 Climate Conference organised by the United Nations in Copenhagen on 7-18 December will gather some 15,000 participants from all over the world and is aimed at reaching a global commitment on reducing green house emissions.

"As part of its efforts to reduce the environmental and climate impact of the conference, the government has decided to discontinue the practice of giving gifts," a press release from the Danish ministry of foreign affairs reads.

Instead, a budget of €537,000 has been allocated to a special scholarship programme, funding two-year masters degrees in climate change at Danish universities for 10-12 students.

"Too often, we have seen how conference kits end up in garbage bins at conference venues and hotels. As some, however, are going to miss their gift and conference-kit, I ask you to keep in mind that this scholarship was made possible by their goodwill," Danish minister for development, Ulla Tornaes, told the scholarship recipients during a welcoming reception on earlier this month.

As one of the sticking points of the COP15 conference will be the commitment of wealthier nations to help developing countries meet their environmental targets, most of the scholarships awarded by the Danish government went to students from the developing world - six young women and five male students.

Sarmin Islam from Bangladesh, who will study agro-environmental management at the university in Aarhus, explained in her motivation letter that over 80 percent of the population in her country are farmers fighting the destruction of floods and cyclones every year. "I saw it from my childhood," she wrote, deploring the fact that the government has insufficient funding to invest in the higher education of specialists.

"I am so happy to get the COP15 scholarship, which will help me acquire modern knowledge on agro-environmental management," Ms Islam said.

For Hong Ren from China, it was her childhood experience that made her determined to study environmental management. "When I was a kid, the grey sky, dirty air and the high incidence of lung cancer were the nightmare of my hometown – Lanzhou," she wrote in her personal motivation letter. "I would like to continue my research in the field of environmental management and economics, because it has long been ignored in China," Ms Ren added.

The other nine students awarded scholarships are from Ghana, Brazil, Mexico, Albania, Latvia, India, Cameroon, Pakistan and Nigeria. They are enrolled in programmes such as biosystem engineering, wind energy, environmental chemistry and health.