Ministers and high-level officials from 32 countries that met informally in Bonn want to build on the strong momentum of the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, by making sure the decisions are effectively implemented, with the curbing of greenhouse gas emissions.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. Nkoana-Mashabane, has announced the appointment of Mr. Zaheer Fakir (South Africa) and Mr. Georg Børsting (Norway) as co-Chairs of a work programme on long-term climate finance.

The Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, the key outcome of the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2011, has been dubbed by many as the platform for inaction, with the decision to find agreement by 2015 being seen as the agreement to disagree at a later date.

As the first week of negotiations at the so-called “African COP 17” drew to an end and the final week begins, it is perhaps a poignant time to ask: What could possibly be meant by calling COP 17 “an African” COP?