Durban Conference Reaches Deal

A weak but existent document to stop global warming emerges as the talks wind down.

After the longest meeting in its history, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in South Africa has finally come to an end. Participants reached an agreement, (if only a vague one), in a document called the “Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.” For the first time, all countries (including the US, China and India) have committed to cutting carbon, with plans to make a legal deal about reductions in 2015. Participants also agreed to support a Green Climate Fund to assist poor countries with climate change, though details on who will get the money for what have yet to be determined. Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent was pleased with the outcome, and once again stated his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol.