Sir David King, University of Oxford

Following the meeting of leaders and negotiators at COP17 in Durban, the main focus of discussion has been the Kyoto protocol and the need for a binding international agreement on climate change. This, in my view, is a redundant exercise. The real driver for change in climate negotiations is the call for voluntary national commitments that was issued in 2009 at COP 15 in Copenhagen. Indeed, more has been achieved post-Copenhagen and Cancun through voluntary and nationally-agreed carbon emissions reductions than in the 15-year circus of negotiations since Kyoto.

Andrew Prag, OECD

Durban has served up some unexpected breakthroughs - agreed as usual in the most human way with exhausted individuals, on their third consecutive all-night session, finding compromises that they never thought possible brought on by their bodies’ desire to escape the negotiating halls and recover some sleep.

Nationality: Kenyan

Country of residence: USA

Current Position: Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project at Harvard Kennedy School

What prompted your early interest in the environment?
I grew up on the Kenyan shores of Lake Victoria at the mouth of two rivers (Nzoia and Yala) that flooded regularly and often twice a year. Living on the edge of Africa’s largest lake and watching truly glorious sunsets over it, is sufficient to inspire and awaken even the sleepiest of souls. My earliest experiences were shaped by societal interest to balance between environmental risks and benefits. The flows and ebbs of the two rivers were directly linked to discernible changes in population and economic fortunes. Ecological drama was an integral part of my early childhood and it was then that I developed interest in responding to challenges through creativity and innovation. It was also then that I learned that innovation, like introducing new crops, is not risk free. Doing nothing is not a choice when you live an area that is constantly undergoing change. These were not just ordinary lessons for me but they directly shaped my personality and outlook.

Agnes Otzelberger, CARE International

CARE’s on-the-ground, community-centred work on supporting responses to climate change is all about delivering hands-on approaches together with our partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our involvement in the COPs, by contrast, has taught us about linking that experience to navigating the labyrinths of highly abstract, technical language. If you want your concerns addressed in these talks and, more importantly, in their output, you need to be really good at shuffling, tracking, interpreting, defining and staying put on the latest negotiating text. You need to get what you want included and be able to say what you want with as few words as possible.

Thanks to their closeness to and detailed knowledge of their territories, subnational governments are particularly well placed for identifying the needs and the strengths of their communities in sustainable development. Besides, Federated States and Regional Governments not only implement sustainable development policy and legislation adopted at international and national level, but also have legislative and fiscal competences in their respective territories in a wide array of environmental, economic and social fields that directly contribute to the long term goal of achieving sustainable development.