The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa ended on December 11, 2011. The conference included the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 7).
The meetings resulted in the adoption of 19 COP decisions and 17 CMP decisions and the approval of a number of conclusions by the subsidiary bodies. These outcomes cover a wide range of topics, notably the establishment of a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, a decision on long-term cooperative action under the Convention, the launch of a new process towards an agreed outcome with legal force applicable to all parties to the Convention, and the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund.
Results of COP17 2011 On the first couple of pages you can read a good summary of the history of climate change negotiations since 1992 among the Earth’s countries and leaders. Its worth reading to refresh the context for the current negotiations at COP17. See below for articles with different points of view regarding the “success” of the conference:
The National Post (Canada)
The Sacramento Bee (U.S.)
World News service for newspapers around the world on results of COP17
Susan Feathers 