Conference of the Parties

The Climate Train has completed its month-long journey along the railways of South Africa, raising awareness of COP17 as it went, and has arrived in Durban where the long-awaited conference has begun.
• COP!&: what’s possible, what’s not

The much-anticipated COP17 climate change conference, considered one of the world's most important events, got underway in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province on 28 November.
● Wear green for COP17

South African President Jacob Zuma welcomed more than 15 000 delegates from 190 countries to Durban at the start of the UN Climate Change Conference on Monday with the message that the future of the world was in their hands.

South Africa acknowledged its role as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on the continent, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said as the African agenda was set at COP 17 in Durban on Monday.

Carrying representatives from all over Africa, as well as from countries in Europe, South Africa's "Climate Train" has left Johannesburg on the final leg of its journey to Durban, where the UN Climate Change Conference starts on Monday.

Youngsters from four South African schools will get the opportunity of a lifetime when they participate in the Youth Climate Negotiation session at the Climate Change Response Expo during COP 17.

While it is unlikely that a legally binding deal on reducing carbon emissions will be struck, COP 17 should build on the Bali Roadmap and put into effect the Cancun Agreements, says Edna Molewa, leader of South Africa's negotiating team at the UN climate summit.

Durban must not be remembered as the place where the Kyoto Protocol was buried, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize said at a COP 17 preparatory meeting in the coastal city where the crucial UN climate summit starts next week.

Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, the leader of South Africa's delegation to COP 17, says "exam fever" is the best analogy to explain how the government is feeling just days ahead of the United Nations climate summit.

If you want to find out what the South African government, business and NGOs are doing about climate change - visit the South Africa Climate Change Response Expo in Durban.