Dispatches from Durban

As the world watches, the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) begins today in Durban, South Africa. Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting for climate talks, seeking to make measurable progress toward a broader deal to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Want to stay up to date with highlights and progress at COP 17? We’ve got you covered. Our contact on the ground, Neil Thomson, will bring you Dispatches from Durban each day to share the latest developments in negotiations.

Neil manages the Low Carbon Economy research at ISIS, a research centre at UBC’s Sauder School of Business that focuses on sustainability and social innovation. ISIS and Offsetters are both under the strategic leadership of James Tansey, and have worked together on a number of projects, most notably carbon management for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

As a policy expert, with a primary interest in the development of a low carbon economy through market based mechanisms for CO2 reduction, Neil is heading back to his homeland, South Africa for COP 17. While there, Neil will also be at the World Climate Summit, the most prominent and exclusive conference for business, financiers, philanthropists and governments to accelerate solutions to climate change.

At ISIS, Neil’s work informs decision-making in both the public and private sectors of British Columbia around some of the key issue relating to climate change. He is the lead author of both the PICS Climate News Scan and the ISIS Briefing Notes, and was recently part of a team that produced the first workshop in the Carbon Governance Project series. The Carbon Governance Project’s Vancouver event marked the first in an international series of workshops, bringing together leading industry experts, scholars and government representatives to discuss innovative means of advancing a clean economy. Neil spent his formative years growing up in South Africa and holds an Honors degree from the University of Johannesburg in Strategic Management, and an MBA from UBC.

Check back each day to follow Neil’s experiences, and stay up to date on the climate talks’ progress through our Dispatches from Durban.

Quick Facts about Neil:

Favourite thing about South Africa: South Africa has many of the conveniences of a developed country mixed with a unique charm that is inherently African.

Least favourite thing about being on a plane for 24 hours: Emissions aside, the taste and smell of plane food become all-consuming.

Best quote heard today: Christiana Figueres chose to open the Durban Summit by quoting Nelson Mandela and his memorable observation that "it always seems impossible until it is done".