Lord Stern: COP 17 United Nations Climate Change Conference Durban, South Africa 28 November - 9 December

5th December 2011 - 5300 days ago

Discussions on the green fund were "going pretty well" at Durban, said Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change. Other countries were also optimistic on Wednesday that the fund could be launched at the Durban meeting, which would help to release billions in funding for poor countries, to be spent on ways of cutting emissions – for instance through renewable energy – and adapting to the effects of global warming.

If the green fund is launched, it may be the one clear success of the conference. Talks on the other main issues – the future of the Kyoto protocol and the potential for a new global treaty on the climate – were crawling at a snail's pace.

The EU reiterated its demand for other countries to join it in pressing for a new international legally binding treaty, to be signed in 2015 or 2016, and to come into force in 2020. Only if some other major economies, such as China or the US, sign up to this "roadmap" will the EU agree to continue the Kyoto protocol after its first "commitment period" expires in 2012. So far, none have done so and some developing countries are insisting the EU should go it alone with a continuation of the Kyoto protocol.

Connie Hedegaard, EU climate chief, said: "There are not many hours left – we want to encourage the big emitters to come forward with more clarity on their real positions."

Chris Huhne, the UK climate and energy secretary, said the EU would not go it alone because, together with a handful of smaller developed countries such as Norway and Switzerland that have also agreed to continue Kyoto, it makes up only 15% of global emissions. "It is absolutely essential that we have real commitments to the roadmap [from other countries]."