It will be the rich countries, the ones that emit the most carbon emissions, setting the agenda at the COP 17 climate conference in Durban. This has become like a ritual.
It is no exaggeration that climate change conferences are not delivering results. 
 There is too much talk and very little action taken by rich countries to cut down on their carbon emissions. It has always been like that; one conference after the other and it may very well be the same with the one in Durban. 
Before the conference began, there was already talk that the hardline stances of different economic blocs ÔÇô led by America- posed, a threat to chances of a deal. Japan and Canada are said to be insisting, trivial as it may sound, that their beautiful designer valises can hold no further carbon reduction commitments.
Well, as for Japan, they can safely say that. They have found a dumping ground for their vehicles in Africa.
 As the levels of carbon emissions keep on rising, as we all know, it will be Africa which is going to helplessly suffer the dire consequences than the big polluters of this planet. Africa has no voice at the meeting. Theirs is to go and watch as the first world come up with a plan they are not even going to use.
Russia may not even attend the Durban gathering. The European Union wants the biggest polluter on earth, the US, to accept some new carbon targets. And they know very well that big brother America never really plays by the rules.
It is said that the world needs a far more ambitious plan to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases than the Kyoto Protocol.
The European Union climate negotiators were quoted in the South African media as having called for a global deal to be reached by 2015. They want such a deal in place by 2020.  
There is a concern that time is running out to save the Kyoto Protocol, which sets legally binding emissions cuts for most major economies and is designed to reduce the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, increasingly extreme weather and crop failure. 
According to reports coming out of the Durban conference, the EU is willing to sign up for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol but other signatories, including Russia, Japan and Canada, are not. The EU said any deal would be almost meaningless unless the majority of emitters signed on.
But where is China?
Are we going to see little commitments from the various economic blocks if America does not show enough commitment as they try to outdo one another in their endeavour to dodge shouldering the responsibility of saving our planet while they continue to cause even more harm to it?
 Africa should not allow the other continents to use it as their dumping ground for their toxic waste. That will teach developed countries to manage their emissions themselves.
