Action needed to prevent climate change 'spinning out of control' - UN climate chief - AlertNet

DURBAN, South Africa (AlertNet) – As if to remind negotiators of what is at stake, heavy unseasonable thunderstorms killed eight people overnight in Durban on the eve of the latest round of United Nations climate talks, which started Monday in this tropical Indian Ocean city.

Such extreme weather is what “we are seeing all over the world,” warned Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and prompt action is needed to keep climate change from “spinning out of control,” she said.

COP17 Durban climate conference live coverage

Last night's local flooding in Durban, with tragic loss of lives, is rapidly making its presence felt in the global political debate in the International Conference Centre. Here's Artur Runge Metzger, head of the delegation of the European Commission in the press conference just ending now:
     "how high does the water need to get in these conference places before the negotiators reach agreement"

Eyewitness News: Greenpeace slams Zuma

Climate campaigner Ferrial Adam said [President] Zuma also misstated South Africa's emission targets, which was extremely embarrassing for the host country.

“It’s very concerning. It’s quite clear that our government and our president is reading speeches that were prepared for him rather than coming to terms with the issues around climate change.”