Unified Communications

Cisco has announced that it is offering a collaboration platform to facilitate discussions at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Dec.7-18.  

 

Named a “Global Climate Change Meeting Platform (GCCMP),” the Cisco (News - Alert) platform is built on a powerful network of Cisco TelePresence and audio and Web conferencing technologies designed to extend the reach of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15).

 

With this platform, climate negotiators and support teams will be able to conduct meetings and negotiations with peers, experts, stakeholders and media irrespective of their location before, during and after COP15.

Earlier in June, Cisco had announced that it has been selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark as the official technology partner for COP15.

 

The Conference of the Parties is an annual gathering of the members of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to assess progress in dealing with the issue of climate change. COP15 aims to set a global agreement among all of the countries of the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities.

 

“The deployment is part of the Danish government's commitment towards making COP15 as environmentally friendly and collaborative as possible,” said Svend Olling, a representative with the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

The GCCMP is designed to help COP15 delegates and stakeholder groups around the world conduct discussions on the issue of climate change without the time, monetary and carbon costs associated with travel, Cisco said.

 

At Copenhagen the GCCMP will connect the Bella Center conference venue with a number of government, U.N. and Cisco locations around the world over a private Internet Protocol (IP) network.

 

The platform will enable live audio, video and Web conferencing to the 12,000-15,000 delegates from more than 192 countries, plus some 3,000-4,000 media representatives from around the world, at COP15, according to Cisco officials.

 

There will be four Cisco TelePresence rooms at the conference center, specially designed to make local and remote meeting participants feel as if they are in the same room. The rooms will be connected to 77 Cisco TelePresence rooms, the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy and select Danish embassies around the world at no cost to COP15 participants, said company officials.

 

The Danish government is also arranging access to the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, UNEP in Nairobi, the United Nations' Palais des Nations, UNICC in Geneva and U.N. headquarters in New York City.

 

“With the Global Climate Change Meeting Platform we are able to provide delegates with access to accurate and timely advice from experts wherever they may be located in the world,” Olling said. “We are inaugurating a meeting platform that brings inclusiveness and efficiency to the political arena.”

 

Cisco officials said the GCCMP platform will also support future climate change discussions by allowing remote delegates and peers to join those discussions in a more environmentally sustainable, efficient and inclusive manner.

The partnership with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark lasts until the end of 2010.

 

“Cisco is hopeful that the Global Climate Change Meeting Platform will facilitate and speed the discussions over how nations around the world can work together to minimize our environmental impact,” said Laura Ipsen (News - Alert), senior vice president of global policy and government affairs for Cisco, in a statement.