From 28th November to 9th December 2011 South Africa hosted ‘COP17 – CMP7’ the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The term ‘parties’ refers to the States that have signed on to the UNFCCC and which have been meeting annually in ‘Conferences of the Parties’ to assess progress in dealing with climate change since 1995.

The event was also the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as a ‘Meeting of the Parties’ (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol. Maite Nkoana‐ Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co‐operation, chaired the meeting, while Edna Molewa, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, led the national delegation. COP17 – CMP7 was anticipated as marking a critical moment in the ongoing international climate hange negotiations; whether it in fact did so emains an open question.

Written by the CPLO