Sergio Abranches, from Durban
COP17 president, South African minister of Foreign Relations Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane has asked a small group of parties to facilitate the final negotiations towards a package deal to be delivered in Durban. It is a sign that negotiations are moving towards a close. There still are some key issues pending a compromise solution, but all negotiators indicated they’ll cooperate to get the best outcome possible. More »
Sergio Abranches, from Durban
COPs look all alike, regardless the sometimes radical change of their environment, from freezing streets to sunny beach promenades. Their first week, called “technical segment” looks pretty much like their second week, called the high-level segment. The difference? The second week is more crowded, and ‘politicos’, having ministerial rank, take charge of negotiations. To expedite a solution they tend to set technical considerations aside and focus on the wording of resolutions that might appear significant enough to justify calling them an “agreement”, a “roadmap”, a “plan for action”, or a “process”. More »
Global warming is showing no signs of slowing down and further increases are to be expected in the next few decades, shows a new study published today, in the Environmental Research Letters. More »
Sergio Abranches, from Durban
A perusal of discussions on preliminary results of informal consultations shows that negotiators are streamlining options, preferably to come down to only two alternatives. More »
Sergio Abranches, from Durban
Negotiators from the United States, China and Brazil said today in their press briefings that they agree with a legally binding climate change agreement for all countries by 2020. To sign into a second period of commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union has set as a condition that major emitters agree to a roadmap and timeline towards a common legally binding agreement to enter into force no later than 2020. More »
Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, shows study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. More »
