In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the outcomes of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC held in Durban, South Africa, in 2011. It evaluates the progress made toward a binding global climate agreement, the operationalization of financing and adaptation mechanisms, and the remaining gaps in mitigation ambition.

• COP 17 established the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, which commits all parties to a new negotiating track aimed at creating a global mitigation regime by 2020. This is significant because it would include all major emitters, including the United States, China, and India, under the same legal obligations for the first time.
• Parties agreed to a second commitment period (CP2) for the Kyoto Protocol running from 2013 to either 2017 or 2020. However, this period is considered weaker than the first because it relies on a voluntary "pledge and translate" exercise without an aggregate global mitigation target, and key countries like Canada, Russia, and Japan will not participate.
• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was operationalized to serve as the primary long-term financing body for developing countries, but it lacks capitalization. There is significant ambiguity regarding the actual sources of funding beyond short-term fast-start pledges, and the host organization for the interim secretariat has not yet been decided.
• Progress was made on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) through the adoption of biennial update reporting guidelines and the creation of a Web-based registry to match developing country needs with developed country support. However, developing countries emphasized the need for flexibility due to varying data capabilities.
• Adaptation was elevated in importance through the operationalization of the Adaptation Committee, which will be composed of 16 members with disproportionate representation for developing and least developed countries. Additionally, guidelines were adopted for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to help least developed countries identify priority activities.
• Negotiations on agriculture were difficult and stalled due to their linkage with sectoral approaches and concerns from large developing countries regarding potential trade implications. Parties only agreed to have the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice consider agriculture issues at its next session.
• The report identifies a critical trade-off between the inclusivity of a future agreement and its level of ambition. To include major emitters like the US, China, and India, the Durban agreements required flexibility that may result in a "lowest common denominator" outcome, leaving the world likely headed toward a temperature rise of 2.5 to 4 degrees Celsius.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/assessing_the_outcomes_cop17.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/assessing_the_outcomes_cop17.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/assessing_the_outcomes_cop17.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndpursuit, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{In Pursuit of a Binding Climate Agreement: Negotiators expand the mitigation tent but reinforce the ambition gap}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/assessing_the_outcomes_cop17.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }