2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference
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The 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) was held in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa, from 28 November to 11 December 2011 to establish a new treaty to limit carbon emissions. A treaty was not established, but the conference agreed to establish a legally binding deal comprising all countries by 2015, which was to take effect in 2020. There was also progress regarding the creation of a
Green Climate Fund The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund established within the framework of the UNFCCC as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism to assist developing countries in Adaptation to global warming, adaptation and Climate change mitigation, miti ...
for which a management framework was adopted. The fund is to distribute US$100 billion per year to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts. While the president of the conference, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, declared it a success, scientists and environmental groups warned that the deal was not sufficient to avoid
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
beyond 2 °C as more urgent action is needed.


Background

The conference was officially referred to as the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...
(UNFCCC) and the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. In addition, the two permanent subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC – the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) – were likely to hold their 35th sessions. The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference extended the mandates of the two temporary subsidiary bodies – the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the convention (AWG-LCA) – so they were expected to meet as well. A primary focus of the conference was to secure a global climate agreement as the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period (2008–2012) was about to end. It was also expected to focus on "finalising at least some of the Cancun Agreements", reached at the 2010 Conference, such as "co-operation on clean technology", as well as "forest protection, adaptation to climate impacts, and finance – the promised transfer of funds from rich countries to poor in order to help them protect forests, adapt to climate impacts, and "green" their economies". A month before the Conference began, the
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highlighted two contentious proposals which had been submitted – one by
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, the other by
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, both aiming to amend the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...
. Russia's proposal would bring about a "periodic review" whereby countries currently categorised as "poor" could be recategorised as "rich", and thus obliged to shoulder greater obligations in the combat against climate change. BBC Environment correspondent Richard Black commented that the proposal would be "provocative and explosive, if Russia pushes it", because potentially affected countries, such as China and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, would "push back very strongly". Papua New Guinea's proposal, submitted by Ambassador Kevin Conrad with the support of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, would introduce a "last resort" mechanism to break any deadlocks in climate change negotiations through a three-quarters majority vote, thus clarifying the decision-making process under the convention. Describing the proposal as "intriguing", Black noted that although it would theoretically enable developing countries to use their numerical superiority to adopt any kind of world-wide binding obligation, in practical terms they would still need the approval of rich countries to secure funding.


Statements


China

Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation, stated that China was willing to make binding commitments to limited greenhouse gases in 2020 if they appropriately took into account historical contributions of greenhouse gases by developed countries such as the United States and European states and sustainable economic needs of developing countries such as China and India. Xie said that he was concerned about the reluctance of developed nations to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. He called on developed countries to provide financial and technical aid to help developing nations fight against and cope with the effects of climate change.


India

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's representative at the conference, Jayanthi Natarajan stated that India "will not be intimidated. There is an attempt to shift the blame to developing countries. We do not accept that. Please do not hold us hostage. And please do not take our agreement to be weakness." Natarajan responded to European Union Climate Commissioner
Connie Hedegaard Connie Hedegaard Koksbang (born 15 September 1960) is a Danish politician and public intellectual. She was European Commissioner for Climate Action in the ( second Barroso) European Commission from 10 February 2010 through 31 October 2014. On ...
, saying that:
We have shown more flexibility than virtually any other country. But equity is the centrepiece, it cannot be shifted. This is not about India. Does fighting climate change mean we have to give up on equity? We have agreed to protocol and legal instrument. What's the problem in having one more option? India will never be intimidated by any threat or any kind of pressure. What's this legal instrument? How do I give a blank cheque? We're talking of livelihoods and sustainability here. I'm not accusing anybody, but there are efforts to shift the (climate) problem to countries that have not contributed to it. If that is done, we're willing to reopen the entire Durban Package. We did not issue a threat. But are we being made into a scapegoat? Please don't hold us hostage.


CGIAR

Bruce Campbell, Director of the
CGIAR CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food ...
research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), said it was astonishing that agriculture, one of the worst emitters of greenhouse gases, remained excluded from global agreements on climate change. "Leading agricultural groups, from farmers and researchers to policymakers and development organisations, have all come together to call on COP17 negotiators to address the need for a Work Programme on agriculture", Campbell said.Negotiations must deliver a work programme on agriculture
" ''chimalaya.org.'' Climate Himalaya, 6 December 2011. Web. 24 February 2012. "Now, it is up to negotiators to heed our joint call-to-action and allow agriculture to play its part in building resilience amongst vulnerable populations, helping farmers adapt to more unpredictable and extreme weather conditions and mitigating future climate change".


Friends of the Earth

Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International, said "delaying real action until 2020 is a crime of global proportions ... An increase in global temperatures of 4 degrees Celsius, permitted under this plan, is a death sentence for Africa, Small Island States, and the poor and vulnerable worldwide. This summit has amplified climate apartheid, whereby the richest 1% of the world have decided that it is acceptable to sacrifice the 99%."


Greenpeace

Greenpeace issued a statement calling on conference participants to ensure a peak in global emissions by 2015, continue the Kyoto Protocol and provide a mandate for a comprehensive legally binding instrument, deliver climate finance and set up a framework for protecting forests in developing countries.


Youth Delegation

Anjali Appadurai, a college student at
College of the Atlantic College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States. Founded in 1969, it awards bachelors and masters ( M.Phil.) degrees solely in the field of human ecology, an interdiscipli ...
in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
and a member of the Youth Delegation, delivered a succinct speech that summed up the science regarding global warming and the failure of the UNFCCC negotiations to rein in climate change, demanding the UN "Get it done!"


Durban Platform

After two weeks of negotiations a deal was reached only on the last day, Sunday 11 December, after a 60-hour marathon negotiation session. Negotiators agreed to be part of a legally binding treaty to address global warming. The terms of the future treaty were to be defined by 2015 and become effective in 2020. The agreement, referred to as the "Durban Platform for Enhanced Action", was notable in that for the first time it included developing countries such as China and India, as well as the US which had refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement entailed the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol in the interim, although only some countries including members of the EU were indicated as likely to commit. The terms of the Durban Platform were ultimately met following the successful negotiation of the Paris Agreement at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. ;Green fund The conference led to agreement on a management framework for a future
Green Climate Fund The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund established within the framework of the UNFCCC as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism to assist developing countries in Adaptation to global warming, adaptation and Climate change mitigation, miti ...
. The fund is to distribute US$100bn per year to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts.


Responses

After the conference concluded, Michael Jacobs of the
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008. The centre is a partner of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at I ...
in London, said: "The agreement here has not in itself taken us off the 4 °C path we are on... But by forcing countries for the first time to admit that their current policies are inadequate and must be strengthened by 2015, it has snatched 2 °C from the jaws of impossibility. At the same time it has re-established the principle that climate change should be tackled through international law, not national, voluntarism." Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said: "I salute the countries who made this agreement. They have all laid aside some cherished objectives of their own to meet a common purpose, a long-term solution to climate change."
Kumi Naidoo Kumi Naidoo (b 1965 in Durban, South Africa) is a human rights and climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Greenpeace International (from 2009 through 2015) and Secretary General of Amnesty International (from 201 ...
of Greenpeace International said: "Right now the global climate regime amounts to nothing more than a voluntary deal that's put off for a decade. This could take us over the 2 °C threshold where we pass from danger to potential catastrophe." U.S. Senator
Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committ ...
, who opposes government energy regulations such as cap-and-trade and has called man-made climate change a hoax, cheered what he called the setting aside of "any remote possibility of a UN global warming treaty" and described the conference outcome as "the complete collapse of the global warming movement and the failure of the Kyoto process". Inhofe said that the message from Washington, including from President Obama and the Democratic leadership of the U.S. Senate, to the delegates of the conference was that they are being ignored. German media criticised the outcome as "almost useless", saying the pledges are vague and the timeline is slow, the main merit being that the talks have been kept alive.


See also

* 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference * Climate change mitigation * Sustainability * Post–Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions


References


External links


2011 United Nations Climate Change ConferenceIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
{{Authority control United Nations Climate Change Conference Climate change policy History of Durban Diplomatic conferences in South Africa 2011 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change United Nations Climate Change Conference United Nations Climate Change Conference United Nations Climate Change Conference South Africa and the United Nations