Durban is all set to be the new venue for climate diplomacy, as leaders, negotiators and experts across continents gather in that South African city of to cobble up a consensus on the future course of action towards a more livable earth. The two-week discussion will see countries discussing and deliberating in their bid to arrive at a consensus on agreement to peak and reduce global emissions. Even before the talks have started, climate commentators have their doubts whether Durban would be able to end the deadlock that has lasted for more than 10 years through Copenhagen and Cancun meets. The summit is officially referred to as the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties (CMP 7) to the Kyoto Protocol. WHAT’S ON THE TABLE? Kyoto Protocol (KP) and its second commitment period will be the most contested issue at Durban. The first commitment period of KP ends in 2012. To avoid any gap between the first and the second commitment periods, the decision on KP will have to be taken at Durban. Thus, Durban talks would decide whether Kyoto gets a second lease of life in the form of another commitment period or gets a silent burial. Besides, KP, the Green Climate Fund would be another make-or-break for Durban.The Cancun Agreement had established a green climate fund. A fast track finance of $30 billion for 2010-2012 and a fund of $100 billion a year by 2020 had been decided. The developed countries have so far failed to fulfil their commitment for the finance. Moreover, with the global economies, especially the US and Europe in doldrums, there would be qualms on the financial commitment by the developed nations. INDIA’S AGENDA Besides, KP and the climate fund, India is heading towards Durban with some additional agenda. Of them, the key talking points are around technology transfer by developed countries and trade measures. India wants global intellectual property rights regime that accelerates access to critical mitigation and adaptation technologies to developing countries at reasonable costs. India is also concerned about unilateral trade measures being taken by the developed countries in the name of climate protection. It wants unilateral measures to be prohibited. MINISTER’S SPEAK Ahead of the global climate change talks in Durban, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan made it clear that India wants an extension of the current Kyoto Protocol and against any new legally binding clause. “A long-term binding agreement cannot be quid pro quo for a second commitment period. It cannot and should not,” she said. “A new legally binding clause is not required for climate change talks to continue. Because a framework based on principal of equity and common but differentiated equity already exist in the form of the Kyoto Protocol.” TEAM INDIA IN DURBAN Natarajan will lead a 42-member Indian delegation at the Durban climate talks. She will take part in the ministerial level talks of the 17th Conference of Parties from December 4-9. Environment Secretary T Chatterjee will lead the delegation-level talks when the CoP-17 opens in Durban on November 28. Chatterjee will be assisted by officials from the Environment and Forests Ministry including J M Mauskar (Special Secretary), R R Rashmi (Joint Secretary), Jagdish Kishwan (Additional Director General Forests). Dilip Sinha, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and T S Tirumurti, Joint Secretary (UNES) in the MEA will also be part of the delegation. Ajay Mathur, director-general Bureau of Energy Efficiency, his deputy Sanjay Seth and K J Ramesh, Adviser in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, besides representatives from the ministries of Power, Finance, Civil Aviation, Agriculture, Shipping, Commerce and Industry will be part of the delegation. Two MPs each from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, representatives of industry associations FICCI and CII and a group of four students will also be part of the delegation. Among the non-officials in the delegation are T Jayaraman from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Subrata Bose, Project Coordinator, Ozone Cell and Kirtiman Awasthi, Project Officer, UNDP. WHAT TO EXPECT The ultimate goal of the discussion is to limit the emissions at a level to contain global warming. But, given the reluctance of the world’s big emitters to accept any legally-binding emission-cuts and the a widening divide between the developed and the developing, rich and poor, strong and weak, one can only hope that the climate change talks should not get caught in a vortex of competitive politics.