Deal Reached in Final Hours at UNFCCC Talks in Durban

As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) went into its final weekend of talks in Durban, South Africa, many doubted whether an agreement could be reached. However as the final hours approached there was an agreement reached that promised a “universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, but not later than 2015.” A new group, the Ad Hock Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, was formed to begin work immediately on an agreement. The key to the agreement was getting both developed and developing countries to agree to it. Some of the other key parts of the agreement include:

• Green Climate Fund: It should be operational in 2012 as countries have already begin pledging to it. A 20 member Standing Committee was formed to oversee it. And a program to guarantee long-term finance was agreed to.
• Technology: the Technology Mechanism will become fully operational in 2012.
• CCS: under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism governments agreed to allow carbon capture and storage projects as part of the CDM. Guidelines reviewed every 5 years.