South Africa hosted the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the seventh Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC COP17/CMP7 also known as COP 17).

This auspicious event was held in the City of Durban from 28 November to 9 December 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

COP 17 aimed to establish a firm set of commitments among participating countries to reduce country-level carbon emissions and to agree to the mechanisms that were required to achieve carbon emissions reductions as a global effort to contain the disastrous effects of anthropogenic climate change.

An estimated 20,000 representatives from 194 countries in the world participatinged at the event. In addition, up to 30,000 civil society members involvement in a host of activities, running in parallel with the official COP17 negotiations.

The event would have a carbon footprint and no effort would be spared to reduce event-related emissions as well as promote the reduced use of natural resources. The call for a low-carbon event has given rise to an overall programme, known as 'Greening COP 17'.

The greening of COP17 became a collaborative effort involving practically every role-player in the event itself and activities leading up to the event whether it is organisers, exhibitors, delegates or activists.

The process was a shared one with the eThekwini Municipality taking responsibility for the greening of all elements within the time-frames of the event, within the United Nations precinct and within the City of Durban, with the exception of the Climate Change Response Expo, which was managed by the department.

The municipality was also responsible for determining and offsetting the local carbon footprint of the actual event, excluding international and regional travel.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The department was responsible for the greening and carbon footprinting of events leading up to the COP17 such as the climate change provincial summits and UNFCCC secretariat meetings as well as areas or components that required national co-ordination such as safety and security and transportation. 

In those areas, there was a close working relationship amongst the different spheres of government to ensure the successful execution of the COP17 and supporting events.

APPROACH

The approach to the greening of COP17, from a national perspective, involved identifying all the relevant role-players to whom greening support could be offered, the development of greening guidelines, and support in applying those greening guidelines.

VISION OF A LOWER-CARBON SOCIETY AND ECONOMY

In addition to the technical greening support, the greening team also monitored greening initiatives that supported the vision of a lower-carbon society and economy. Several initiatives were showcased during the COP 17 to illustrate the transition to more sustainable options which were both desirable and feasible.

Greening initiatives would be documented and published in a detailed report based on Global Reporting Initiative Standards.