MADE in Europe volunteer Abi Lee-Carter sums up the outcomes of the recent climate change talks which took place in Durban.

Last week marked the prolonged, somewhat drawn out end to the Durban Climate Conference aka COP17. If it all seems a bit complicated, then read on because we at MADE in Europe have decided to provide you with an abridged version of the COP17’s shenanigans.  Don’t worry, there’s no need to thank us, it’s the least we could do!

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The European Union made the decision to take an ambitious hands-on approach to brokering a deal(s), which in turn, placed them at the helm. From pole position, the EU nations lead the way towards negotiating further emissions cuts and they remained reasonably cohesive and driven throughout.

So does this mean that they got the deal they wanted?  No, not exactly, but they are pleased that some but progress has been made.

The ‘Big Fish’

The United States remained markedly reticent throughout.  That was most likely to be a political tactic to curry favour back home, after all a presidential election looms and Obama won’t want to give the impression that he would leave America vulnerable by being easily swayed by other nations.

India bid to uphold the reduced responsibility they currently benefit from, a patent division where only countries labelled "developed" have to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.  India’s envoy argued that the Western nations have failed to uphold their emissions pledges; so the poorer countries should not have to do it for them.  Xie Zhenhua, head of the Chinese delegation, agreed.

However, it has to be said, that notwithstanding the fact that China and India still carry the label of ‘developing’ countries (much to do with the vast disparity of wealth distribution within these nations); their respective economic booms have left them in terms of GDP, far from poor.

And the argument that "we can't ask the big developing countries to cut their emissions because it'll take pressure off the developed ones" is, again, surely outdated; because it also works in reverse.

Who fought for the Little Man?

The countries most vulnerable to climate impacts seem to have gained a small but significant win at the Durban conference.  Together they form the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and the Least Developed Countries bloc (LDCs) and have more than 70 members combined.

Seeing that some ‘developing’ countries have much higher per-capita emissions than some developed, it is obvious that the road to reaching a global temperature rise limited to 2◦C (35.6F), must include cuts from developing big emitters soon.

Aosis and the LDCs agree that rich countries (developed or not) need to do more.  The roadmap proposal originated with the EU, the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and the Least Developed Countries bloc (LDCs).

The children are the future

The youth certainly enlivened the proceedings.  A young heckler received keen applause during US envoy Todd Stern speech (perhaps that could be you one day!), and the youth delegates breathed a breath of fresh air into the proceedings with their positive,  go-get-‘em outlook.

Ok, ok!! So what have they all decided?

In short, the UN climate talks closed with an agreement that the chair said had "saved tomorrow, today."

These are the headlines:

• The European Union will place its current emission-cutting pledges inside the legally-binding Kyoto Protocol, a key demand of developing countries.

• Talks on a new legal deal covering all countries will begin next year and end by 2015, coming into effect by 2020.

• Management of a fund for climate aid to poor countries (Green Climate Fund- $100bn (£64bn) per year to help poor countries develop cleanly and adapt to climate impacts) has also been agreed, although how these  funds will be raised, has not.

• It has been agreed that any deal must have "legal force”.  This is not the same as it being legally binding but it helps.

Want to know more?

Check out some of the blogs of the UKYCC's youth delegation who went to Durban including this blog by Fatima Ibrahim who gives an emotional appeal to keep up the climate change campaign.