Towards a 2015 Agreement: Elements of the Durban Platform
By: Kennedy Mbeva
The current focus of the international climate change negotiations is on delivering a new climate agreement by 2015. This is due to the exacerbating effects of climate change, while efforts to tackle them are often deemed not sufficient.
However, with the flurry of discussions, workshops, conferences and
studies going on, it is easy to lose track of the process. It is in
this light that we will have a series of articles breaking down the
nitty gritties of the negotiations towards a global climate agreement.
Setting the stage
The stage for working towards a global climate agreement was set at COP17 , in a package of decisions known as the Durban Platform. In essence, this package outlined four key areas that would form the roadmap for a global climate agreement by 2015, with the overarching term being ‘ambition’. These are:
1. Global Review of the global temperature goal
There has been a raging debate as to whether the target of keeping
global atmospheric temperatures, of 2 degrees, is appropriate. Thus a global review was proposed with the aim of using data and science so as to establish the appropriate temperature rise ceiling.
2. Launch of a new track of negotiations
At COP17, it was deemed that a new subsidiary body was needed in
order to iron out the details of the new global climate agreement by
2015. This subsidiary body is called the
Ad-hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action
, in short, ADP.
ADP has an overarching mandate of delivering a global climate agreement in any of the three possible forms:
3. Conclusion of some existing stream of negotiations
4. Renewal of the Kyoto Protocol
The
Kyoto Protocol
was to run out at the end of 2012, thus, the
Durban Platform
called for the adoption of a second commitment period of
the Kyoto Protocol.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Thus, the Durban Platform laid the ground for the 2015 climate agreement. The next post will look at ADP in detail.
Kennedy Mbeva is the founder of
GreenBits Initiative
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