As policy makers gather in Durban, South Africa, for the 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, success for this round of the global climate negotiations is being defined largely as the avoidance of visible failure. This report reflects on the insights generated during the October 2010 international conference held at CIGI, CIGI ’10: Climate of Action, and considers what it would take to establish robust international climate cooperation. The significance of the paper’s messages extend beyond COP 17 — developing a multi-annual perspective on climate governance would allow policy makers to build domestic support for climate policies, generate increased trust among political leaders and leverage the immense potential of ground-up initiatives.
