The air is thick with loss
Loss is like a fog choking off the city from the life of the sun. Or in words better expressed, “When the sun falls behind the sumac thicket the wild yellow daisies in diffuse evening shade lose their rigorous attention half-wild with loss turn any way the wind does and lift their petals up to float off their stems and go. ” Loss – by A.R....
Read MoreWhile COP17 hailed ‘a success’, SA slammed as mediator
Almost 36 hours after they were originally scheduled to end, the UN’s two-week climate-change summit ended in Durban with a dawn agreement on Sunday. While the European Union has emerged COP17’s biggest winner, South Africa too has received some polite comments for “rescuing” the talks from disaster. Privately, however, delegates criticised South Africa’s unhurried mediation for forcing the talks into overtime.
Read MoreDeconstructing the African position at COP17
If COP17 has demonstrated just how difficult it is to get the world to agree on a common path for the greater good, then it has also emphasised the number of voices clamouring to be heard in climate change diplomacy.
Read MoreSahel a key case study for climate change at COP17
Negotiations at the UN Climate Change conference, COP17, have so far focused on the politics of the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Equally important, however, are the negotiations on adapting to the effects of climate change in embattled parts of the developing world like Africa’s Sahel.
Read MoreFor Gaza, a carbon-neutral school
On the sidelines of the diplomatic wrangling at the COP17 in Durban this week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has unveiled a fascinating initiative to build as many as 20 “environmental zero impact” schools in the Gaza Strip.
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