south africa posts, articles, and infographics

South Africa to Introduce Carbon Tax in 2013

March 13, 2012 by Jake Schmidt
with 313 views

South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced in his budget speech that a carbon tax will be implemented in the next financial year that runs from 2013-2014. The proposal is to implement the carbon tax at a fairly low level, and then define an increasing price path over time. It is a cautious approach but this is... [read more]

The Platform Opens a Window: Durban's Unambiguous Consequence

January 2, 2012 by Robert Stavins
with 407 views

In my previous essay – following the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which adjourned on December 11, 2011 – I offered my assessment of the Durban climate negotiations, addressing the frequently-posed question of whether the talks had “succeeded.” I took... [read more]

Good COP, Bad COP

December 13, 2011 by Jason Hartke
with 180 views

Like on any of the nighttime dramas, we watch time and time again how yet another police duo utilize the classic good cop/bad cop routine. Well, in my final blog from Durban, I leave you with my own good COP/bad COP. Let’s play good COP first. [read more]

The Durban Climate Deal Inkblot Test

December 13, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 279 views

After going into sudden-death overtime, the UN climate conference in Durban, South Africa wrapped up this weekend with an agreement that only a climate diplomat could love. Constituting in effect an agreement to agree to some future agreement, the outcome is open to interpretation. Is this the failure that was widely predicted, the... [read more]

Making Sense Out of Durban

December 13, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 200 views

So what the heck happened in Durban? Is the world closer to dealing with the problem of global warming? Or not? If, like me, you aren’t a devotee of the UN climate negotiations, reading the headlines isn’t much help. From the glass-half-full crowd: Progress at end of Durban Cop17 climate talks (LA Times). Reason to smile about Durban climate conference (Eugene Robinson in the WPost). Climate deal salvaged after marathon talks (The Guardian). From the pessimists: How the world failed to address climate change–again (Michael Levi at The Atlantic.com). The Durban climate deal failed to meet the needs of the developing world (The Guardian, again). COP out (South Africa’s Cape Times). [read more]

Are Durban Outcomes Historic or Hollow? (1)

December 12, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 231 views

This is the first of two posts on COP17, the Durban-based UN climate change talks: this summarises the accords reached and others' reactions; the next post following immediately is the Low Carbon Kid's assessment of the accords. After the longest conference in the history of UN climate summits, a "historic" agreement was reached, that... [read more]

Durban - How Big a Deal?

December 12, 2011 by Elliot Diringer
with 151 views

Only time will tell whether the Durban climate talks produced an historic breakthrough. It’s possible. What’s clear for now is that the Durban deal keeps the global climate effort intact and moving – however incrementally – in the right direction. [read more]

Important Progress at Global Warming Negotiations in Durban; Major Work Ahead

December 12, 2011 by Jake Schmidt
with 105 views

As Nelson Mandela famously said*: “It always seems impossible, until we are done.” That is exactly how it seemed at the United Nations COP-17 climate negotations over the past two weeks – extremely difficult (and even impossible at times). The negotiations lastest more than than 36 hours after they were supposed to... [read more]

Durban: It Could Have Been Worse, It Should Have Been Better (2)

December 12, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 102 views

This is the second of two posts about Durban. The first gives a run-down of the accords agreed, this gives an assessment. It was never going to be easy. Anyone watching or following, as I was, the high drama of the last three days of the climate negotiations in Durban must have thought it more gripping than any Hollywood political... [read more]

A Surprise Ending for Durban

December 11, 2011 by Shira Honig
with 190 views

The Durban conference on climate change ended on a much better note than many expected, but continued to delay the toughest questions for at least three years.The final outcome of the conference, COP-17, is a two-page, breakthrough document called the “Durban Platform for Enhanced Action” that commits all countries to a legally binding... [read more]

COP17: Tackling Emissions Surplus & Linkage Harder Than Expected

December 6, 2011 by Sabina Manea
with 213 views

A week into the Durban conference, progress on the continued workability of the Kyoto Protocol emissions trading mechanism is slow. A number of parties to the negotiations have acknowledged that action needs to be taken to tackle the surplus of Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) in the international emissions market. The details of the action remain undecided, despite some proposals being put forward in various discussion groups. If a second commitment period is to go ahead, agreement on the carry-over of AAUs will have to be reached in order to give certainty to the market. [read more]

Do Countries at COP17 Have a Mandate to Negotiate a Climate Agreement?

December 5, 2011 by Jake Schmidt
with 189 views

For the last two global warming negotiations – in Copenhagen and Cancun – there were serious efforts by countries to get a “mandate” to negotiate a new legal agreement that would strengthen international efforts to address global warming. Before this meeting this issue – “where we are headed” – was shaping up to be the key political decision at this year Ministerial meeting in Durban, South Africa. [read more]

India Rejects EU Plan for New Climate Treaty

December 5, 2011 by Shira Honig
with 174 views

With the Durban climate change negotiations barely a week old, key countries are drawing their “red line” positions in the sand.On one side of the line, where the Group of 77 (G77) + China and other developing countries firmly sit, is a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol that continues binding targets for current country... [read more]

How The Smart Grid Can Solve Climate Change

December 5, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 339 views

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins its latest meeting today in Durban, South Africa. Only the sunniest of optimists expect real progress in forging a global agreement as developing and developed nations argue about voluntary versus legally binding emissions reductions and funding measures. ... [read more]

South Africa’s Solar Power Potential

December 2, 2011 by Antonio Pasolini
with 397 views

As the United Nations climate change conference rages on, quite literally, in Durban South Africa, experts from COP17’s host city point to one alternative energy source that could help it mitigate its emissions: solar power. [read more]