While 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.
Read MoreWorld powers and developing nations do battle at COP17
As the second week of negotiations at the UN climate change conference in Durban begins, the European Union claims support is growing for a new legally-binding agreement to cut carbon emissions. While opposition from the US, India and China continues to hold, the EU is itself reluctant to be bound to a second commitment period.
Read MoreCOP17: Coal, South Africa’s reality
Jimmy Manyi barred journalists from probing the progress of the South African negotiations at a COP17 press conference on Thursday. Instead the minister of energy Dipuo Peters and minister of water and environmental affairs Edna Molewa responded only to questions about government’s energy projects.
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