Kyoto Conference to Go Live via Global Internet Video Broadcast

For use of the media only;

not an official document

KYOTO, 28 November 1997 -- In one of the most ambitious Internet video broadcasts ever attempted, the Third Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3) to be held from 1-10 December at the Kyoto International Conference Hall (KICH) in Japan, will be seen and heard in real time via the Internet by many people around the world.

This unique broadcast will be available in up to seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish). It will be delivered from up to 16 computer servers located in seven countries, greatly increasing the speed and improving the quality of these byte-heavy transmissions.

The RealVideo broadcast will feature the opening and closing ceremonies of the Climate Change Conference, speeches by Ministers and other heads of delegations, official negotiating sessions that are open to the public, and selected special events sponsored by United Nations and non-governmental organizations. Viewers in time zones where live broadcasts are inconveniently timed will be able to view videotaped proceedings and events at their convenience.

In addition to voice and video transmission, the COP3 web site will feature regularly updated information about the conference proceedings, including documentation, scheduling, and a list of participants. It will also feature interactive chat sessions that will enable Internet users to address topical questions to guest speakers.

The video broadcasts and chat sessions are integrated with a number of linked web sites. The address of the COP3 web site developed specially for the current meeting is www.cop3.or.jp and there are mirror sites in Europe at www.cop3.de and in North America at www.cop3.org. The Japanese-language web site for host-country outreach web site is at ww2.cop3.or.jp. The COP3 web site and its mirrors are in addition to the regular web site maintained by the Climate Change secretariat at www.unfccc.de.

At the KICH, delegates will have Internet access via a cyber centre (the CC:INFO Centre), where they can access news coverage on COP3 from around the world.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: For more information please contact Fareed Yasseen, Manager, Information Support, Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), e-mail: fyasseen@unfccc.de, phone: (81-75) 705-2701, fax: (81-75) 705-2702