Africa Keen to Ensure Kyoto Protocol Survives

[marmar]

MONTREAL, Canada, Sep 12, 2011 (IPS) - Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol, says Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, about his expectations from the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change happening in his hometown in South Africa later this year.

"The stars are not aligned to get a legally binding treaty. What we need to do then is get as close to the legally binding treaty as we can," says Naidoo.

For Naidoo, a former anti-apartheid activist who assumed Greenpeace's helm in 2009, a legally binding treaty, support for Africa's women farmers and protection for the continent's forests are among his wish list for COP 17, which may decide the the Kyoto Protocol's fate. The protocol, which expires in 2012, sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Naidoo recently met with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. She is also the incoming COP 17 president. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105072