Durban talks a victory for Europe's climate chief

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union climate chief Connie Hedegaard was the youngest ever member of the Danish parliament when she won her seat in 1984 at the age of 23.

More than two decades on, she is now one of the EU's most effective operators and has won plaudits for her role in salvaging a deal at the U.N. climate talks in Durban.

Her success in South Africa had its roots in her familiarity with the compromise politics of the EU, her ease with the media, and in her willingness to apply the lessons of the spectacular failure of the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009.

Hedegaard initially presided over the Copenhagen summit as Denmark's then minister for climate and energy. The hosts were heavily criticized for seeking to force through a deal agreed by rich nations without the input of developing countries.

Most of the political blame for the fiasco that ensued fell on former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who replaced Hedegaard as president of the talks in their final stages, but she clearly learned from the experience.

One of the problems of the Copenhagen summit was that all the big leaders attended, notably U.S. President Barack Obama who railroaded the EU.

Even then, Hedegaard's focus was more on the United Nations and the developing world, commentators said.

In Durban, she allied the EU with the island nations and poorest countries most at risk from climate change and was able to isolate reluctant giants such as China, India and the United States and force them to agree on the need for legally binding action.

"Building that alliance with the least developed countries was crucial in putting the pressure on China especially, because of course China is heavily investing in Africa, so they have a huge interest that the relationship with those countries remains good," Dutch Green EU lawmaker Bas Eickhout told Reuters.

"I think really she played the pivotal role in achieving that, so she has done a good job there," he said.

Her success lay in identifying the middle ground between countries on both sides of the climate debate, which EU colleagues said reflected her role in seeking out EU consensus as the bloc's climate change commissioner.

"It's one thing to get 27 nations on board, but 190-plus is impressive," said one EU source at the talks.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

In 1990, Hedegaard left Danish politics to became a popular journalist and anchor on Danish television, and she remains an effective media operator.

Journalists in Durban praised her directness, in contrast to that of some other delegations. When answering the media's questions truthfully would have damaged the EU's negotiating position, she simply said that she could not answer.

"She was very young when she entered politics. And she was very likeable. People in Denmark liked her. She was frank and dynamic," said Thomas Larsen, political columnist at the Danish daily newspaper Berlingske.

Many in Denmark's Conservative Party, which has struggled for years with weak poll ratings and had a dismal election this year, would like to see Hedegaard return to Danish politics and take the leadership of the party, he said.

"That would be fulfillment of their dreams, so to speak," said Larsen. "(But) if she can, she will continue an international career. I think that is her ambition."

(Additional reporting by Barbara Lewis, and John Acher in Copenhagen, editing by Jane Baird)