PERSPECTIVE Saving Tomorrow – Today? International Perspectives in the Run-Up to the UN Climate Change Conference 2011 in Durban NINA NETZER AND JUDITH GOUVERNEUR(EDS.) October 2011 n In view of the impending expiry of the first Kyoto obligatory period in 2012 and the modest results produced by the climate conference in Cancún last year, there is tre ­mendous pressure on the parties to the negotiations at the upcoming World Climate Conference in Durban to conclude the climate negotiations on a successful note. Be ­cause it is not very realistic to hope that an accord binding under international law can be concluded within the framework of the UNFCCC, the minimum objective must be to agree on a second obligatory period of the Kyoto Protocol. n One of the key lines of conflict continues to be the crisis of trust and confidence between industrialised and developing countries. It will only be possible to reach an accommodation in the negotiations if, on the one hand, newly industrialising countries such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico or South Africa act as honest brokers and show a willingness to assume obligations commensurate with their economic and political power. On the other hand, however, the industrialised countries must take the lead both financially and with respect to their willingness to set binding, appropriate reduction targets. n This publication intends to provide an overview of positions of key states in the negotiations as well as an analysis of their respective reasons and backgrounds. The chapters examine the role played in climate negotiations to date by Brazil, China, the EU, India, Latin America, Mexico, South Africa and the USA and offer a look ahead at the positions they are likely to adopt in Durban.