Press dossiers

Climate Summit in Durban

Hopes of a successful conclusion to the world climate summit, which starts next Monday in Durban, South Africa, are extremely slim. Progress may be achieved in the second negotiating track, i.e. adaptation aid for the countries worst hit by climate change. However, mankind's global warming issue would appear, under the United Nations' process, to be doomed to further failure in Durban. This would mean that the Kyoto Protocol, still the only binding climate protection agreement, although not signed by all the major economies, would expire with no follow-up agreement. Munich Re is therefore calling for new climate protection initiatives. To boost the campaign being waged on global warming despite the stalled UN climate negotiations, a core group of countries that have already set their climate goals needs to take the lead and concentrate all their efforts on promoting renewable energy. During the Durban climate summit, Munich Re will publish an electronic press folder on the internet containing useful information on aspects of the summit at www.munichre.com.