BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The debate on United Nations climate change conference will continue, even though the 194 countries managed to come up with the Durban Platform. After the drama and confusion in the South African city, Tian Wei, moderator and anchor of CCTV News who also serves as special advisor to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) China, interviewed UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.
Q: Are you satisfied with the outcome of the Durban conference? What do you think was the biggest challenge the conference handled in the two weeks?
A: In Durban, governments faced the extremely difficult question of coming to a unified agreement on how to create a new global regime to address climate change. The conference could not have had a timelier task - a recent report by the Global Carbon Project stated that carbon dioxide emissions reached record levels in 2010. The outcome of the conference, also known as the Durban Platform, represents a package of decisions Taken together, these decisions represent important progress in the UN's work on climate change, and the (UN) secretary-general has called on the parties to quickly implement these decisions and to continue working together.
The Durban climate conference took decisions that are crucial for the direction and pace of international action to combat climate change, and all countries were involved in these decisions. The agreement will help lay the groundwork for how countries, large and small, deal with the opportunities and challenges of transitioning their economies toward low-emission and climate-resilient development.
The parties tackled the biggest challenges, including a new legal regime for climate change encompassing all signatories, the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the establishment of the "Green Climate Fund".
Q: What will be the UNDP's mission in facing the challenges of climate change after the conference?
A: UNDP is involved in many aspects of the climate change challenge. We are working closely with individual countries and in global conferences like Durban to support efforts that tackle the causes and impacts of climate changeWe are committed to assisting countries to move the agenda forward.
Durban made progress in important areas like adaptation to climate change, technology development and transfer, and climate finance. UNDP provides substantial technical assistance to developing countries on climate change issues. We aim to meet the very high demand for capacity building to access climate finance.
