Posted by: JaredFurtado on Dec 15, 2011

By: David Biello

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”—Dickens’s phrase might serve to sum up the reactions to what is now officially called the “Durban Platform for Enhanced Action” on climate
change. This two-page document, reminiscent in its brevity of the Copenhagen Accord from 2007, purports to set the global community on a road to a global effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming.

“I think everybody understands we’re talking about a legal agreement of some sort or another, and I think that the fact that we have all of the developing countries and, in particular, the major developing countries agreeing to do that, is significant,” noted U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern in a conference call with reporters on December 13.

Of course, a road is not the same as a destination: agreements don’t necessarily translate into definitive action. Hence the pessimism of some of the more than 12,000 participants, noting that what happened in Durban is really only the prolonging of international talks about climate change, rather than any real action to restrain global warming.

Many sources of tensions that preceded Durban—rich vs. poor, the self-interest of the energy rich, and the panic of nations under immediate threat of climate catastrophe—persisted even as the conference participants flew home. On the other hand, a global agreement that all countries—whether rich or poor, developed or developing—have an obligation to reduce emissions represents a major shift in such talks. Prior to Durban, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” ruled climate talks. In short, this meant that those countries responsible for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions—the E.U., U.S., Japan and others—would be equally responsible for the bulk of any emission reductions.

“India is asking for space for basic development for its people and poverty eradication. Is this an unreasonable demand?” Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan argued during a ministerial “indaba“—or meeting to hash out differences—late on the night of December 10. The principle of “equity”—or the need to cut slack for newly developing countries in a global emissions budget—will continue to figure prominently in future climate negotiations as the world determines exactly what the Durban package actually means.

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