With the successful conclusion of the Durban Climate Summit just behind us we look back on what was achieved over the last two weeks, what this means going forward and how the outcomes were received.

COP17 Durban

In a major realignment of support, well over 120 countries formed a coalition behind the EU’s high ambition proposal of a roadmap to a global legally binding deal to curb emissions. African states together with the least developed countries such as Bangladesh and Gambia, and small island states vulnerable to rising sea levels, like the Maldives, joined with the EU to put forward a timetable which would see the world negotiate a new agreement by 2015 at the latest.

Main achievements include:  Achieving global agreement  on a roadmap to a legally binding deal,  a second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol to be agreed next year  and a Green Climate Fund to be set up.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said:

“This is a significant step forward in curbing emissions to tackle global climate change. For the first time we’ve seen major economies, normally cautious, commit to take the action demanded by the science.

“The EU’s proposal for the roadmap was at the core of the negotiations and the UK played a central role in galvanising support. This outcome shows the UNFCCC system really works and can produce results. It also shows how a united EU can achieve results on the world stage and deliver in the UK’s best interests.

'A clear and vital step'

He said:

"After the disappointment of Copenhagen, last year’s Cancun conference showed that the UN climate process was back on track. The Durban conference was designed to build on that outcome, and our aims were therefore higher.

"At our most optimistic, we hoped to agree a roadmap to a new global legally binding agreement, to replace or supplement the Kyoto Protocol.

"Unlike Kyoto, this would incorporate emissions targets for all countries other than the poorest and least developed.

"This would be accompanied by agreement to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol from 2013. We also aimed to encourage countries to strengthen their voluntary pledges to reduce emissions in the years before any new agreement entered into force, and we hoped to establish the Green Climate Fund.

"Mr Speaker, I am pleased to say that, following two weeks of intense negotiations, we achieved each of these aims."

He continued:

"The Durban conference represents a significant step forward.

"It has re-established the principle that climate change should be tackled through international law, not through national voluntarism.

"It has persuaded the major emerging economies to acknowledge, for the first time, that their own emissions commitments will have to be legally bound.

"It has encouraged all countries, also for the first time, to admit that their current climate policies must be strengthened.

"It has established the Green Climate Fund to support the poorest countries in tackling and responding to climate change.

"And it has preserved the invaluable legal framework of the Kyoto Protocol, while at the same time opening the path to a new, more comprehensive and more ambitious global agreement. It was a clear success for international cooperation."

You can read the statement in  full on the DECC Website.

Reactions to Durban

Christine Figures UNFCCC executive secretary

"I salute the countries who made this agreement. They have all laid aside some cherished objectives of their own to meet a common purpose - a long-term solution to climate change."

Connie Hedegaard, European commissioner for climate action

"[The] EU's strategy worked. When many parties after Cancun said that Durban could only implement decisions taken in Copenhagen and Cancun, the EU wanted more ambition. And got more. We would not take a new Kyoto period unless we got in return a roadmap for the future where all countries must commit. "

Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Head of the Africa Group

"It's a middle ground, we meet mid-way. Of course we are not completely happy about the outcome, it lacks balance, but we believe it is starting to go into the right direction."

Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa

"The outcome in Durban is a coup for Africa. Issues that had taken so long to resolve have been resolved on our soil. We are very happy and proud of the South African team that worked so hard with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to make Durban succeed."

Ruth Davis, Greenpeace UK chief policy advisor

"The political signal delivered by Durban is more powerful than the actual substance of the agreement. A new progressive alliance of over one hundred vulnerable countries, backed by the European Union, demonstrated that there's massive appetite for an ambitious legally binding climate deal covering all the major polluters. Such a deal moved a small step closer in Durban, with agreement to negotiate towards it in 2015."

Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK

"It's good that the UK and EU have aligned themselves with this coalition, but Europe must urgently convince the world that it is serious by increasing the ambition of its painfully weak emissions target for 2020 to at least 30% below 1990 levels. By doing so, the EU would actually benefit its own economy - saving billions on imported fossil fuels and creating the springboard for green growth and new green jobs."

Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director

"The outcomes of Durban provide a welcome boost for global climate action. They reflect the growing, and in some quarters unexpected, determination of countries to act collectively. This provides a clear signal and predictability to economic planners, businesses and investors about the future of low-carbon economies."

Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Director of the Corporate Leaders' Group on Climate Change

"Hundreds of businesses have articulated the urgent need for international action on climate change. With this agreement, the result of long and detailed negotiations, governments have shown what is possible. However there is still a long way to go and keeping the world below the threshold of 2˚C warming remains a real challenge that cannot be put off till 2020."

Nick Mabey, Chief Executive  E3G

Despite the euro-zone crisis, the EU, alongside progressive developing and vulnerable countries, brokered a deal in Durban. Durban is not a final victory but it is a real opportunity. We now have to work intensively towards the 2015 deadline to mobilise the political will needed to permanently reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change to safe levels.”

If not 2009, why 2015?

The 2011 UN Climate Summit was hosted by the Government of South Africa, from 28 November - 10 December 2011 and brought together representatives of the world's governments, international organisations and civil society to agree international action on climate change. 

You can read coverage of the Summit here from the UK delegation to COP17.

Climate Change: There is no Plan B

In the article, John Ashton writes:

"It is fashionable to argue that a new climate treaty, based on the Kyoto architecture of legally binding carbon caps, is dead. We should, on this view, give Kyoto a decent burial and switch to plan B. This turns out to be a looser arrangement in which governments make voluntary pledges to each other.

 "‘There really is no plan B for the climate. A voluntary framework will not be enough to keep us within the 2C limit of manageable climate change. Unmanageable climate change will precipitate systemic collapses, including of our food and water security."

He continues:

"Durban needs to send a clear signal that the world is moving rapidly in this direction and that as soon as countries become sufficiently prosperous they will accept binding caps. The deal that is both available and essential must include a second phase of Kyoto commitments for those willing to accept them, plus an unambiguous "commitment to commit" by 2020 from the other major players. This would at last unblock the path to a binding regime with full participation."

Promoting UK - India cooperation on low carbon growth

Minister of State for Climate Change and Energy Greg Barker has been in India this week strengthening relationships between the two countries. This visit builds on the Prime Minister’s historic visit to India last year and demonstrates the huge importance that the Coalition Government places on building our strategic relationship with India. 

The visit was an important opportunity to

·         promote UK India cooperation between government and business, to deliver solutions facilitating growth and prosperity in a low carbon future;

·         think constructively with Indian government and business about how we can help move the UNFCCC process forward together, towards an effective global legally binding agreement; and

·         encourage greater public and private investment in green growth in India.

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With just over 2 weeks until the UN COP17 Climate Summit in Durban, beginning on 28 November, preparation continues with Ministers and senior official hosting a number of meetings with business groups and NGOs to discuss the UK position leading into the talks.

Secretary of State for Energy Chris Huhne and Foreign Secretary William Hague hosted a Question Time event on climate change on 8 November with representatives from youth organisations. 

The urgency of international action on climate change was again highlighted this week by the findings  published in the IEA Energy Outlook Report which present a stark reminder for countries as they head to Durban.

Durban Climate Summit

Youth Question Time: Climate Change

The event linked audiences of young people in the UK and South Africa, and was webcast live to an international audience. Television presenter Rick Edwards chaired the discussion, which covered a range of topics from the UK’s policies to cut its own emissions to the international negotiations, and from the role of governments and wider society to how young people across the world can engage in the climate debate.

Speaking on the event Secretary of State Chris Huhne said:

"It’s hugely important that young people’s voices on climate change are heard and I’m really pleased so many took part in the Question Time event. Making the shift to a low carbon economy in the UK will create new markets and exciting job opportunities for the next generation as well as providing a more sustainable future."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said:

"Climate change is perhaps the twenty-first century’s biggest foreign policy challenge. We all have a responsibility to tackle this threat and the decisions we take now will have a profound effect on future generations.

"Young people in the UK and across the world play a critical role in the climate debate, and it is essential that their opinions are heard through events such as this. As we approach Durban, we all have an important duty to show the next generation the leadership needed to build international consensus on this vital issue."

You can watch the full webcast here.

IEA release annual energy outlook report

Responding to the report European Union Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard said:

"One wonders how many more worrying figures the world needs. The World Energy Outlook 2011 shows that the world is heading for a fossil fuels lock-in. This is another urgent call to move to a low-carbon economy by using the right incentives: carbon price, fossil fuels subsidies cuts, more renewables and energy efficiency, and smarter ways of taxing."

A DECC Spokesperson added:

“At the upcoming climate talks in Durban, the UK hopes to build on what was agreed upon last year in Cancun and also make progress on some of the political issues that we need to address to achieve our overall goal to keep average global temperature rises below 2 degrees. This includes firming up a process towards a legally binding framework, ensuring global participation including from major economies.”

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With just over three weeks to the Durban Climate Summit activity from a wide range of sectors continues to gather pace.

This week saw the UK Government publish a new document Tackling Climate Change, Reducing Poverty which sets out how UK funds will help tackle climate change in the poorest most vulnerable countries.

Avoiding deforestation is a vital way to help tackle climate change and this made the headlines this week with DECC Minister of State Greg Barker participating in a Sky Rainforest Rescue/ WWF panel debate in London.

Also this week we look at how governments are working together to tackle climate change with a joint UK- Hungarian low carbon event held in London.

UK publishes International Climate Fund implementation plan

A new publication, Tackling Climate Change, Reducing Poverty, gives an overview of the purpose of the ICF, the main areas it will focus on, and an outline of what we intend to achieve. The four main areas of focus within it are:

●    Helping the poorest people adapt to the effects of climate change on their lives and livelihoods

●    Helping poor countries develop in ways that avoid or reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and enabling millions of people to benefit from clean energy

●    Protecting the world's forests and the livelihoods of the 1.2 billion people who depend on them

●    Encouraging global action on tackling climate change

Read a copy of Tackling Climate Change, Reducing Poverty

Read more on how the UK is helping developing countries adapt to climate change and develop in a low carbon way on the DFID Website.

UK and Hungary join forces to host low carbon dialogue

Speaking on the conference held in London UK Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker seen left with Hungarian Deputy State Secretary Peter Olajos  said:

“Today’s low carbon finance forum – jointly chaired by the UK and Hungary - shows how we want to break down the practical barriers to make investment in green technology a reality in Europe, and can build confidence in Central and Eastern European economies that private sector capital stands ready to invest in low carbon opportunities.”

Hungarian Minister for National Development Tamás Fellegi said:

“There are unparalleled opportunities and serious reserves in green economy, in Hungary as well as other countries, primarily regarding job creation and the improvement of competitiveness. The Hungarian government’s efforts, reflected in the recently approved National Energy Strategy, the changes made in the regulatory environment, and the creation of attractive investment opportunities, are directed towards the establishment of joint development projects with foreign and domestic partners.”

The conference follows last year’s Capital Markets Climate Initiative which brought together key players from the City of London with international financiers and policy makers, with the aim of driving green economic investment in emerging economies and identifying how the current barriers to new investment can be dismantled.

Read more on the DECC Website.

Greg Barker participates in Sky /WWF debate on forests and finance

1st November
Greg Barker took part in the Sky Rainforest Rescue/WWF panel debate Cash-Strapped: Achieving Sustainable Investment for the World’s Rainforest.  The event, chaired by Sky News Presenter Anna Botting, included the panellists James Cameron of Climate Change Capital, Damien Carrington, Head of Environment at The Guardian, Abyd Karmali Global Head of Carbon Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and David Norman the Director of Campaigns at WWF-UK. 

With the backdrop of 7bn people now on the planet and consequential increased pressure on land use, the discussion focused around ways we could find the money to protect the rainforest.

Speaking at the event Greg Barker said

 “There is so much more to rainforests than simply carbon – including biodiversity and livelihood benefits.  Forests have a value in their own right”. 

He noted that “The private sector must be involved, but the answer will not just be the carbon-market.  Consumers have a big role to play in helping companies address drivers of deforestation”.

A photo exhibition on the Amazon was opened following the debate is now open at Somerset House for the next month. 

Read more on the Rainforest Rescue Project website.

Joining the Foreign Secretary will be Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ambassador Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa, and Martin Davidson, Chief Executive at the British Council.

Television presenter Rick Edwards will chair the discussion and put questions from the international audience to the panel.

You can watch the webcast live on 8 November from 1400 GMT (Registration required).

With just six weeks to the United Nations COP17 Climate Summit in Durban, South Africa, momentum for action amongst all constituencies is gathering pace. Over the last two weeks there have been a number of events that demonstrate how all advocates are working to make the case for action on climate change. 

Ministers attended the Pre-COP in South Africa to discuss expectations for the Durban Summit, businesses demonstrated their support by signing up to a communiqué calling for tough action on climate change and an alliance between medical and military experts was forged at a joint conference to discuss the health and security implications of climate change.

Faith groups also raised their concerns on climate change at an event hosted by the Institute of Jainology in Parliament at Westminster.

Greg Barker represented the UK at the Pre-COP meeting on 20-21st October in Stellenbosch South Africa.

The two day meeting provided a good platform for the UK to test the political temperature around the trickiest issues at Durban and build on the constructive discussions that have taken place at negotiator level.

The meeting, structured around South Africa's priorities for the Durban COP focused on specific areas of the negotiations on the first day whilst the second day looked at the bigger picture package for the Durban outcome.

Read more on the countdown to Durban on the UK in South Africa website.

Read  more on the international negotiations on the UNFCCC website.

20 October
Leaders of nearly 200 major companies around the world have signed up to a communiqué calling for tougher action on climate change.

The 2C Challenge, co-ordinated by the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, says that climate change puts society's future prosperity at risk.

Companies signing up include UK retailer Tesco, energy provider EDF, electronics company Philips, chemicals giant Unilever, eBay and Rolls-Royce.

The Communiqué is published six weeks before governments of 192 countries convene in Durban, South Africa, for the annual UN climate summit and will be left open for signature through to the the Rio+20 summit next year in Brazil, which marks 20 years since the original and seminal Earth Summit.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said:

"The UK is not letting up in its efforts to get a global legally binding agreement, which is essential in meeting our objective of keeping global temperature increases to 2 degrees or less.

"Many businesses are already making the transition to low carbon.  Industries across the world have the potential to make massive gains from a green economy."

Medical and military experts call for urgent action on climate change

17 October
Medical experts have urged policy makers to take concrete steps to tackle climate change, warning that failure to do so poses an immediate, grave and escalating threat to the health and security of billions of people around the globe.

After an introduction by recorded message from Secretary of State Chris Huhne, the audience of around 300 health professionals, business, academics, environmentalists, diplomats and press were given high level briefings on threats to global health and security, with an opportunity for discussion of possible solutions.

Professor Hugh Montgomery, Director of UCL Institute for Global Health, opened the presentations on health impacts, which highlighted how climate change could lead to the spread of infectious diseases and higher mortality, and have impacts on child development.

Later Rear-Admiral Neil Morisetti, the UK"s Climate and Energy Security Envoy, spoke on security implications, which looked at how climate change could exacerbate existing tensions, with increasing stresses on scarce water and food resources.

Participants at the conference also backed a statement declaring climate change the greatest current threat to public health.

Ahimsa Day 2011 - Climate Change and the Contemporary World

12 October
Phil Wynn Owen, Director-General of International Climate Change at DECC, spoke about the importance of collaborative international action to tackle climate change, in a speech at the Institute of Jainology's ninth annual Ahimsa Day commemoration at the House of Commons.

The annual event, sponsored by the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative "Friends of India" groups, which this year focused on climate change  was attended by MPs, Ministers, Lords and the Jain community leaders and business representatives.  

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This week

Negotiators met for the final time ahead of the November"s climate summit in Durban at an intersessional meeting in Panama on 1-7 October. Also this week the European Commission release a new poll on climate change and positive news for Europe"s right to tackle carbon emissions from aviation.

International negotiations

The final UNFCCC inter-sessional conference before COP17 in Durban in late November was held in Panama from 1-7 October. 

The meeting presented an opportunity for UK  & EU negotiators to gain a more detailed understanding of countries positions on a range of issues and to develop negotiating texts on key areas to help ensure a balanced outcome in Durban.

The week-long meeting was positive and constructive  in spirit with good progress made on a number of priority areas. Outcomes from Panama will be worked up and developed in substance ahead of Durban.

Following on from this, Ministers will attend a Pre-COP meeting in South Africa on the 21st-22nd October which will present a good platform to discuss the political issues ahead of the Summit.
Read more on the international negotiations on the UNFCCC website.

Greg Barker welcomes Europe's right to tackle carbon emission from aviation

Europe's right to tackle carbon emissions from all airlines using its airports does not breach international law, an adviser at the European Court of Justice declared today.

A group of American and Canadian-based airlines and airline associations is challenging an EU emissions trading scheme which includes non-EU aircraft in rules designed to curb aviation pollution.

They took their case to the High Court in London to oppose UK measures to implement the EU move.

Now the issue has been passed to European judges, who are expected to deliver the final verdict early next year.

UK energy and climate change minister Greg Barker welcomed the opinion, saying: "The UK and the EU will continue to robustly defend our policy to bring aviation into the EU's emissions trading system and believe it is consistent with international law."

He continued:

"The aviation industry, in the same way as other industries, needs to play its part in reducing emissions and we are pleased that the EU is fully prepared for aviation to join the emissions trading system from January 2012."

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Foreign Office Climate Change Team in Pretoria blog about building biodiversity links between the UK and South Africa.

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The Secretary of State for Transport the Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond, MP visited Hong Kong on 23 September as part of a regional visit to China and Japan. Read more on the UK in Hong Kong website.

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Follow @deccgovuk @dfid_uk and @2degreelimit for the latest updates on international climate change issues from the UK Government.