About the UN Climate Summit 2011 in Durban
Another climate summit has come to an end at which the hope of binding global action to combat climate change has not been fulfilled. Instead, this has once again been adjourned. With the document agreed (the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action), a road map has been drawn up that foresees a global treaty by 2020. This will mean almost 10 more years of the negotiation marathon with an uncertain outcome and no fixed global measures. Scientists have been warning of the ever smaller time window for effective measures to limit global warming to 2°C for years now. Extension of the Kyoto Protocol with binding aims is considered too weak. Some countries have already declared their unwillingness to support an extension of the Kyoto Protocol. Some of the outcomes of the climate summit are listed below.
Green Climate Fund
The setting up of a Green Climate Fund, which is to primarily make funding available to the poorer states for climate protection and adjustment to the consequences of climate change, was celebrated as a key success (100 billion US dollars each year until 2020). However, it remains unclear where funding for this should actually come from.
Kids on the Move for Climate Action
A delegation of Climate Alliance was again present at the UN
Climate Summit in the South African Durban. Climate Alliance
Director Thomas Brose handed over 2.7 Million “Green Footprints”
collected in the framework of the campaign “ZOOM – Kids on the Move
for Climate Action” by 200,000 children in 25 countries to UNFCCC
Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Figueres was very
impressed by the performance and asked the children to convince
their parents to be “Adults on the Move for Climate Action!”
Climate Alliance
During a joint event with the German Federal Ministry for the
Environment, the details of CO2 emission reductions that have
actually been achieved were outlined, which were calculated with
Climate Alliance’s monitoring tool. The importance of urban
development for a low-carbon and climate-friendly society as well
as the initiative Covenant of Mayors were presented at the joint
event with the EU’s Directorate-General for Climate Action.
Information and statements from countless members on climate
protection and concrete successes were showcased at the Climate
Alliance stand.