On Saturday, more than 10,000 people gathered, called by environmental groups, in downtown Montreal. Under the slogan: Climate changes: the planet rebels, they toured the streets of the Canadian city. Previously, they had submitted 600,000 signatures at the American embassy, calling on Bush to get involved in the Kyoto Protocol.

At the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, where this summit is taking place, they met in contact groups and informal consultations on numerous issues, including Protocol Article 3.9 (future commitments), the report of the CDM Executive Board, joint implementation, the financial mechanism, technology transfer, capacity building under the Kyoto Protocol, research and systematic observation, Kyoto Protocol International Transaction Register, the IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage, Mitigation, and Privileges and Immunities for Those Serving on Bodies Established under the Kyoto Protocol.

Although the hallways were much less crowded on Saturday, participants focused more on what was going on outside the conference center, negotiators gave no indication that the weekend was going to be a time of relaxation. Intensive meetings continued in many contact groups and consultations. “This is a part, not glamorous, but critical, of the meeting where we try to sort out the technical issues before the politicians arrive next week,” explained one participant.