Cop17

In a surprise turnaround, the UN climate talks produced a new deal to eventually curb global emissions moving forward.

The hard truth about the this year's climate conference in Durban, South Africa, is that the outcome is horrendously inadequate for the scale and immediacy of the climate problem we face.

Does the Durban Platform really "set a new course for the global fight against climate change"? Maybe, but it will require a whole lot of work by the likes of the United States and China to keep the world on that course.

The agreements reached in South Africa make important progress, but much more work lies ahead to address global warming. Here is a quick overview of what was agreed and what it means:

Furnished with an increasing body of irrefutable information, it's more than understandable why Durban-born, 24-year-old Priscilla wonders why our governments are still struggling to find a political solution to the climate challenge.

Hundreds of people marched through the halls of the UN Climate Talks this afternoon to demand that negotiators not sign a "death sentence" in Durban.

Today, the planet is entering a period of consequences. If allowed to proceed unchecked, climate change will exact a huge cost in terms of human life and our economies.

It is easy to reconcile the act of waiting until 2020 in an air-conditioned hall. It is easy to vote against the Kyoto Protocol when you've never pulled your children out of the remains of your house after a rainstorm washed it away.

"People Power" is a new song written and sung by artists across the African continent in collaboration with the global Hip Hop community. The song tells the story of climate impacts across Africa, but it is also a call to action.

Corporate power has occupied the atmosphere. 2011 showed we could fight back. 2012 would be a good year to step up the pressure. Because this time next year the Global Carbon Project will release another number. And I'm betting it will be grim.

Each country can make strong shifts which will ensure that Durban defines a clear mandate to negotiate a new legally binding agreement in the immediate future. Let's hope they take this opportunity and help the world move forward to address global warming.

Essentially, these programs would be funded by developed nations to help pay for community forestry projects in developing countries, if the communities can demonstrate that their efforts are saving forests.

A week before the climate talks began, a new collection of 5,000 e-mails from climate researchers surfaced, apparently part of the same set obtained and then leaked in 2009 in the so-called "Climategate" affair.

With greenhouse gas emissions hitting record levels, a new group of Chinese activists traditionally silenced by an authoritarian government is making its voice heard at the United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa.

The U.S. must show leadership by helping craft a path to get a new legal agreement, not throw up barriers at the outset. They need to ensure that they aren't allergic to the meal that is served, but they can't demand that everything on the menu meet their tastes at the outset.

We're behind the EU when it says we need a comprehensive and binding treaty by 2015. But the EU is going to undermine its position fairly fundamentally if it argues that it should lock in its own weak target for another eight years.

Yellowstone is expected to be up and running by next summer. I for one will be looking at forecasts in a completely different way.

In Durban, countries must be able to "walk and chew gum," while starting to sprint towards solutions that deliver low-carbon energy and reduced deforestation.

Since climate change is the first truly global problem, those people have to figure out how to raise a common message, one that crosses the boundaries of language. The best method -- proven in countless social movements -- may be music.

The Obama Administration has a simple choice -- help stop global warming and reject the Keystone XL project or approve Keystone XL and help another country fail to meet its global warming commitments.

Bonn, Germany -- On Thursday, specific nations presented their work to reduce emissions. Thursday morning, Canada, the EU, the Alliance of Small Islan...

If an airline claimed to be "green" but was actively working to gut carbon pollution standards, what would you do?

China invested $54.4 billion on clean energy in 2010, $20 billion more than the U.S., according to the latest report from Pew Charitable Trusts and Bl...

The world’s leaders will be meeting June 4-6, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Rio+20 Earth Summit.  This Summit is an important...