Why did she resign?

The Danish president of the U.N. climate conference, Connie Hedegaard, resigned Wednesday 16 December as the Copenhagen summit was growing closer to drawing to an end.  She will be replaced by the Danish prime minister as head of the historic talks.

The change was announced as the 193-nation conference enters into a higher phase of negotiations, with world leaders arriving.

U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said that Hedegaard will continue to lead informal talks but Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen will now be the formal head of the conference.

Hedegaard said it was appropriate for Loekke Rasmussen to preside with so many heads of state and government taking part.

But why did she do it?

A few theories have arisen. 

The first of course is that officially resigning and working behind the scenes is no actual resignation. Taking a step back and working the corridors could be a much more effective way to activate unofficial negotiations and talks, while leaving the star role to someone who may be much more adapted to it.

Speculation has been reported though that Hedegaard, who is set to become the EU’s commissioner for “Climate Action” in the new year, is not content with the contents of the so-called “Danish text” a secret negotiating text prepared by rich countries and leaked to the Guardian.

On the ground journalists are also claiming that this was a cunning staged move that will allow President Obama to come to the negotiations on Friday and change the way the talks have been going by saving them.

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said: “This is a planned procedural handover to the Danish prime minister ahead at the start of the high level segment. Prime minister Rasmussen has been closely engaged in this process talking to fellow leaders over the past few months, and he will now be taking the negotiations through to the end game. Connie will remain as prime minister Rasmussen’s special representative.”

Time will tell.

Sources: AP, The Guardian, Times