DURBAN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE 2011: AN ASSESSMENT

This article provides a detailed assessment of the outcomes of the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Durban, South Africa (COP 17). It examines the key decisions reached at the conference and evaluates their significance for the future of the global climate regime. The study's central focus is on the "Durban Platform for Enhanced Action," the landmark agreement reached at the conference, which, for the first time, launched a process to develop a new legal agreement under the UNFCCC that would be applicable to all parties. The research analyzes the complex negotiations that led to this breakthrough, particularly the bridging of the long-standing "firewall" between developed and developing countries. The paper also assesses the other key outcomes of the conference, including the formal launch of the Green Climate Fund and the agreement on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The analysis concludes that while the Durban conference did not solve the climate crisis, it succeeded in keeping the multilateral process alive and in laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and comprehensive future climate agreement.

The 2011 Durban Climate Change Conference (COP 17) was held at a time of deep crisis and pessimism in the international climate negotiations. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of its surprisingly significant outcomes. The study begins by outlining the challenging context of the conference, with the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol about to expire and a profound deadlock between the major emitters on the path forward. The core of the article is an in-depth analysis of the conference's main achievement: the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. The paper details how this decision broke the long-standing impasse by agreeing to negotiate a new single legal instrument that would be applicable to all countries, a key demand of the developed world, while also agreeing to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, a key demand of the developing world. The paper argues that this was a masterstroke of diplomacy that saved the multilateral climate regime from collapse. The second part of the study assesses the other important decisions made in Durban. This includes the formal operationalization of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was designed to be the main channel for climate finance to developing countries, and the establishment of the Adaptation Committee. The findings suggest that Durban was not a failure, as many had feared, but a crucial "course correction" for the climate negotiations. The paper concludes that while the Durban Platform only set out a roadmap and left all the difficult substantive questions for future negotiations, it was a vital political breakthrough that kept the hope of a comprehensive global climate agreement alive.