(Editor’s Note: Earthjustice board member Lisa Renstrom is at the Copenhagen climate change conference and will be blogging from it. Here is her first report.)

What a privilege it is to be here.

My friend Steve English described COP 15 as, "The most important conference/gathering in the history of the planet. We must ALL pray, dance, laugh, love, open, cry, cajole, think, and inspire our deepest, most-connected souls into the depths of possibility and into grief, anxiety, fear, anger, and vulnerability, and, then to emerge with our fullest heart-centered life-nourishing centers, throw caution to the winds, be bold, courageous, and unbelievably articulate, as well as ‘just short of crazy’ with our collective awakening, blessed unrest, and life-supporting intention!"

That sums it up. Chaos and urgency mingling with the long view.

This is my 3rd COP. Last year at COP 14 in Poznan, Poland everyone hoped that Copenhagen would engage finance ministers and heads of state. We got our wish. So many of both are expected to arrive Thursday and Friday that the traditional role of the environmental ministers and negotiators will be rewritten.

Thursday, the big guns begin arriving. Stay tuned.