Time to commit to low-carbon future - UN

Speaking ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC, taking place in Durban from 28 November to 9 December, Figueres spelled out steps that governments would be required to take at that meeting. This includes an agreement on the issue of the second commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, as the first commitment period is due to expire next year, governments' definition of the rules by which they will be reviewed on their climate change efforts, and clarity on climate financing - including the creation of the Green Climate Fund, and a process aimed to ramp up climate finance up to the $100-billion a year.

Figueres announced that South African President Jacob Zuma and Mexican President Fillipe Calderon would be consulting with other heads of state gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly on these steps. Irrespective of the unfolding economic crisis, Figueres said, solutions to the economic crisis "will not be able to maintain growth and stability throughout a longer period unless they are imbued within a global climate change solution."

Read the full article on http://allafrica.com.
Read the COP17 in SA blog.