Conference of the Parties

COP 17 president Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, herself lauded for steering the UN climate summit to a historic conclusion, has congratulated all the countries at the Durban conference for "rising to the occasion when it was most required".

While the Durban climate summit may not be able to produce a legally binding second commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries need to give guarantees that they will sign for a new commitment period post-2012, says the BASIC group of countries.

As heads of state and government ministers start arriving in Durban for the UN climate talks, negotiators are hoping that, come end of the week, some kind of political compromise will have been reached to break the stalemate on a range of issues.

A grouping of the 54 African countries at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban spoke out on Monday, expressing concern at what it described as attempts by some developed countries to kill the Kyoto Protocol.

The mood at the UN climate change talks in Durban so far indicate optimism around achieving a successful outcome, South African President Jacob Zuma said at the opening of a meeting of local governments aimed at developing adaptation strategies for developing countries.

As delegates from 190 countries seek to negotiate a new international agreement for cutting carbon emissions at COP 17 in Durban, South Africa has urged Canada to reconsider entering into a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol.

South Africa will probably continue to make use of coal as its primary source of energy, but will increasingly explore clean energy initiatives as it moves towards a lower-carbon economy, says Energy Minister Dipuo Peters.

Anglo-African bank Investec and the European Investment Bank are to establish a €100-million renewable energy funding facility that will promote clean energy generation and energy-efficiency initiatives in South Africa.

The dust is starting to settle at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban after two days of drama following Canada's announcement of its imminent breakaway from the Kyoto Protocol.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has called on delegates attending the UN Climate Change Conference in South Africa to retain the trust that was built in Cancun, Mexico last year.