African Anger at European Calls for A ‘New Mandate’

If you wish to add your organization's name please send an email to: greeder@coa.edu ASAP Civil society groups attack ‘Durban Mandate’ proposal as a ‘great escape’ DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – Today – Civil society leaders from across Africa, with support from global movements, launched a letter to climate negotiators that warns that focusing on launching a new mandate at the Durban talks...

A Manufactured Process

by Trudi Zundel Allow me to quickly clarify that I'm not an idealist about the UN; I know that the concept of a "fair" international negotiation is  contradicted by the presence of global hegemons--outcomes certainly don't reflect a middle ground between nations. However, the last three years of UNFCCC negotiations have shown us that although the power dynamics of negotiations may not lead to a...

The Great Escape

Or "How they help us help ourselves lose the fight" by Anjali Appadurai Is the climate regime unraveling before our eyes in Durban? There are some scary indications that it is. Some Parties are "cautiously optimistic" (India), some are "reasonably optimistic" (Brazil) and some believe that this is all going down the drain (a different Indian negotiator). The truth is, expectations are all over...

The Future of Developed Country Commitments: Mitigation in the new LCA Text

by Trudi Zundel The new AWG-LCA text came out on Saturday, a bulky 130-page document that was to serve as a guiding tool for the high-level negotiations going on this week. The LCA, or Long-term Cooperative Action, is the negotiating track that runs alongside the discussion on the future of the Kyoto Protocol. Any "Durban Mandate" that comes out of this session will be based on the LCA...

China Syndrome

by Nathan Thanki With the dirty details of week one out of the way, COP17 is changing gears into the high-level segment. Heads of State are coming to town, security is ramped up (execpt at our hostel) and the drone of talks about an outcome  becomes louder and more persistent. A lot off that buzz is around a Durban deal, the so called "Durban Mandate." Most of the noise is around whether or not...