Durban diary
Throughout the conference, IUCN's delegation will be giving the inside view on what's happening and an insight into the key issues at stake.
Final day - no conclusion yet
The Durban negotiations are drawing to a close and so far there is no sign that Parties have reached a conclusion on the two big (and linked) issues on which the success of these sessions will depend: will there be a Second Commitment Period for the Kyoto Protocol (KP2) and will a Roadmap be agreed for the negotiation of a future global (and potentially legally binding) treaty in which all significant emitters will participate, says IUCN's Senior Climate Policy Advisor. …
09 Dec 2011 | Blogs
We must persist
In traditional African culture, people gather in an Indaba to listen to one another and find a common story that can resolve disputes, says Elizabeth Burleson a member of IUCN's Commission on Environmental Law. …
08 Dec 2011 | Blogs
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The climate change football game
It looks as though adaptation, and especially Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) to climate change is becoming quite big here in Durban but we now have to really demonstrate that it is better and more cost-effective than other options and how it can be combined with more “infrastructure-type" options, writes Ed Barrow, Head of IUCN's Global Ecosystem-based Adaptation Programme. …
07 Dec 2011 | Blogs
Finding a link between ‘nature-based solutions’ and international decisions
Rounding the corner into the second week of a slow and largely lifeless COP-17 in Durban, I find myself and my colleagues reflecting on the seeming disconnect between the national-level issues where things are moving and the international realm where we so far seem to be at a familiar negotiation impasse, says IUCN Legal Officer John Costenbader. …
06 Dec 2011 | Blogs
Looking for glimpses of encouragement
This is my third UNFCCC Conference of Parties, says Nigel Crawhall, Director of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee. At Poznan, I remember being shell-shocked by the scientific evidence of climate change and the non-responsiveness of the delegates. In Copenhagen, the event was a disaster, and also on a scale that made it very difficult to focus. Here at COP17 in Durban, the expectations are lower, the feeling is of quiet despair, punctuated with frustration, despair or resignation. …
05 Dec 2011 | Blogs
Rollercoaster emotions at Durban climate talks
We are almost at the half way point of this COP and the overall mood is gloomy, says Stewart Maginnis, Director of IUCN's Environment and Development Group at the UN Climate Summit in Durban. Many seasoned COP watchers will say that this is only to be expected. …
02 Dec 2011 | Blogs
Attending to gender
Building on the momentum gained at the last UN climate conference in Cancun, gender continues to maintain a high level of awareness at the talks currently under way in Durban, writes IUCN’s Lorena Aguilar. …
01 Dec 2011 | Blogs
Spotlight on adaptation
Adaptation is rather high on the agenda in Durban, writes Ninni Ikkala on day three of the Durban conference. Last year's Conference of the Parties in Cancun adopted the so-called Cancun Adaptation Framework to enhance action on adaptation. …
30 Nov 2011 | Blogs
IUCN's influence in action
A paper being submitted to the UN climate talks in Durban this week is a very significant step in the history of IUCN’s efforts to have ecosystems, and even protected area systems, seen as fundamentally important in any new climate change treaty, writes Trevor Sandwith. …
29 Nov 2011 | Blogs
UN climate summit - Day One
Yesterday evening, the day before the start of this year’s climate change negotiations in Durban, the weather and the ocean made a dramatic statement: heavy winds and pouring rain, thunderstorms and high waves, says IUCN Marine Programme Officer, Dorothée Herr. …
28 Nov 2011 | Blogs
