Day 8: Reed Smith Report on the 18th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC
This post was written by Peter Zaman, Nicholas Rock and Pryderi Diebschlag
Introduction
“It must be understood that what we are negotiating here is a complete transformation of the economic structure of the world. This cannot happen overnight…” said Christiana Figueres, the head of the UN climate secretariat, in a press conference on Monday 3 December 2012. Ms. Figueres does not appear to underestimate the ramifications of the decisions taken in Doha, but with government ministers and some heads of state arriving in Doha and anticipation increasing, her statement appears to be one of expectation management.
The Doha Conference: Day Eight
Given the closure of the SBI and SBSTA, the focus has now turned to the Ad Hoc Working Groups ahead of their planned closure on Wednesday. There is much still to be decided before this can happen, but it is hoped that the arrival of the more senior delegates will give the working groups sufficient drive to overcome their current stalemate. The arrival of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday 4 December 2012 (day 9) for the High Level Segment of the conference may well provide further momentum to the discussions.
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