COP17: World Leaders in Durban Agree to New Platform for Action on Climate Change
Durban, South Africa, Dec. 11, 2011—Negotiators from 194 countries extended negotiations a full day past deadlines to reach agreement at the 17th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP17. The resulting Durban Platform for Enhanced Action puts in place steps to complete a global climate pact with “legal force” by 2015, to take effect by 2020. The most significant aspect of this pact is a call for across-the-board emissions cuts that would include developing and developed nations alike.
“I think it’s remarkable that the international climate talks in Durban took a real step toward reducing emissions and saving energy worldwide,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan, who attended the meeting. “It’s important to note that a global agreement, if successful, won’t take effect until another decade – but the world does not have to wait that long to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The work can get started right now with energy-efficient technologies, infrastructure and support already in place throughout the world. Making the way our world uses energy more efficient provides an excellent opportunity to reduce the world’s emissions in a cost-effective manner.”
Photo: UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary Christiana Figures (left) and COP17 President Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (right) at the global climate talks, which began Nov. 28 and ended Dec. 11. Source: Unati Ngamntwini.
From Challenging Beginnings…
Historically, developing countries such as China and India have not been required to make emissions reductions because of the Kyoto Protocol’s “common but differentiated responsibility” construct, which places the main responsibility for reducing emissions on the industrialized countries that have contributed the most to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Key to keeping the Durban negotiations going was the EU’s willingness to accede to emerging economies’ stipulation of a second, five-year commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. Canada, Japan and Russia did not recommit to a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol; the United States did not ratify it.
As negotiations in Durban threatened to break down in the face of resistance by India and other developing countries to the EU’s push for “legally binding” commitments under a successor agreement, COP17 President Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told the EU and Indian chief negotiators to “huddle” with their counterparts from other nations.
Despite developing nations’ concerns about constraining economic growth, the negotiators eventually agreed to the verbiage of a “protocol, or a legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention and applicable to all parties.”
…A New Start
The Durban Platform is an important step forward in ongoing negotiations for climate change mitigation. It emerged from a conference where many people doubted progress could be made, due to questions about the feasibility of forging an international climate agreement under which all major greenhouse gas emitters would make reduction commitments.
In fact, the Durban Platform is the first time that major developing countries have agreed to participate, as major global emitters, in a future legal agreement. While the types of commitments remain to be negotiated, this was a significant step.
Notable Outcomes
The agreement reached at COP17 represents important advances from the Cancun and Copenhagen agreements, and provides a path forward for future negotiations. The notable outcomes include:
- Agreement on a plan to help developing nations fund emissions reduction and adaptation efforts by 2020.
- A work plan to consider options for closing the gap between currently promised emissions reductions and those required to keep warming below 2oC.
- Procedures to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration projects into the Clean Development Mechanism.
A Call for Greater Emphasis on Energy Efficiency
The 2011 agreement will heighten the level of commitment required from all countries toward emissions reduction. In the current economic climate, efficiency is undoubtedly one of the most cost-effective ways forward.
As the quickest, cleanest, and cheapest means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, energy efficiency could prove to be the best first step in creating a low-carbon future, as well as creating a global clean energy economy. For example, in its push toward emissions reduction, China has already named energy efficiency as a key regulatory priority and recently made substantial investments in efficiency improvements.
As Maria Van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the IEA cautioned, “Growth, prosperity and rising population will inevitably push up energy needs over the coming decades.... Governments need to introduce stronger measures to drive investment in efficient and low-carbon technologies.”
Jennifer Layke, executive director of Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency and COP17 attendee, agrees. “Emerging economies can avoid decades of high energy bills and emissions by including energy efficiency in buildings in their Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs),” Layke told the Alliance. “While efficiency is recognized as the lowest cost carbon mitigation option, there can be real barriers to implementing energy efficiency policies. At Durban, we released a ‘toolkit' designed to help countries get started. By including efficiency in the NAMAs – and with support from the Green Climate Fund – countries can begin to achieve significant carbon emissions reductions.”
Alliance Promotes Energy Efficiency at COP17
Alliance President Kateri Callahan helped lead the charge to promote energy efficiency as a distinct solution to global climate change. As a moderator and a keynote speaker at several events during COP17, she underscored the urgent need to curb energy use and make a real commitment to energy efficiency as the world’s “first fuel."
- Callahan moderated the World Climate Summit’s plenary session II, “Mining the Fifth Fuel: Efficiency Gains Driving Profits,” on Dec. 3. The session discussed business opportunities for energy efficiency and addressed strategies for overcoming barriers related to financing, scale and policy.
- Callahan gave a presentation on a successful model for financing municipal water efficiency and energy efficiency in Indian cities at a Dec. 7 workshop. The workshop, titled “Climate Financing and Project Development: Promoting the Uptake of Decentralized Renewable Energy Generation and Energy Efficiency in Cities,” was organized by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership-South African Cities Network (REEEP-SACN).
Alliance International Intern Amber Saxton contributed greatly to this article.
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