The theatrics and atmospherics, no pun, surrounding the COP21 climate change international negotiations in Paris are, not surprisingly, an important part of the fabric and “messaging” of the far more detailed and more obtuse highly detailed negotiations themselves.
Given the crisis mood across much of the “City of Light” brought on by the November Friday the 13th terrorism attacks that traumatized the city and much of the civilized world, those mood-setting/mindset-adjusting images were considerably more subdued than they otherwise would have been, with a pervasive police presence and limitations and outright bans on numerous planned activities and marches.
Long-time professional environmental and climate change photographer Gary Braasch nonetheless captured a trove of images from the historic meeting, and all of those shown below are credited to Gary Braasch/World View of Global Warming.
Meeting delegates could hardly help finding themselves weaving among a number of “Noah’s Ark” fixtures, as illustrated in these three images:
A sprinkling from among the some 3,000 credentialed media representatives.
Unable to engage in the large marches planned and then canceled, a thousand or so resorted to leaving symbolic pairs of shoes.
A memorial to the Paris terrorism attack, La Place de la Republique became also a focal point for many during COP21.
Imported, and melting, Greenland “Ice Watch” ice helps make a point.
The President large-screen image during his closely watched opening-day remarks.
Al Gore addresses meeting in COP21 plenary hall.
“Climate Justice” activists made their views known.
