Copenhagen, 2 November 2011—Norway, Australia and the Netherlands lead the world in the 2011 Human Development Index (HDI), while the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Burundi are at the bottom of the Human Development Report’s annual rankings of national achievement in health, education and income, released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Maputo, December 2011 - The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, gathers environment ministers and negotiators from 195 countries from 28 November to 9 December. The Kyoto protocol,the world’s only binding climate agreement, expires at the end of 2012, and talks in Copenhagen and Cancún in the past two years have failed to replace or renew it.

Besides taking a national position at the negotiations, Mozambique also participates as a member of two negotiating blocks, the Africa Group and the G77 plus China. As a region, Africa is the least responsible for climate change but will be the most affected. Africa has been speaking with one voice but is struggling to be heard. In the negotiations, the African Position is: