Youth Delegate Anjali Appadurai Speaks Truth to Power at Conclusion of COP17 in Durban

onDec 9, 2011 @ 19:48 PST

Perhaps the most powerful speech made in all of COP17 at Durban came at the very end, a statement by Anjali Appadurai, a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine, who addressed the conference on behalf of the youth delegates.

Her scornful depiction of the utter failure of the international community to act on climate change – a failure chiefly owned by the largest polluting nations who have caused most of the damage to the global climate – is spot on.

Watch coverage of Ms. Appadurai’s statement, courtesy of Democracy Now!

By Brendan DeMelle

Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

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BySam Bright

onApr 18, 2026 @ 09:58 PDT

Live tracker of the Reform leader’s personal income.

Series: Defending Democracy from Dirty Money

Series: Defending-UK-Democracy

uk/Nigel Farage Has Personally Accepted £675,000 from Foreign Sources

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onApr 18, 2026 @ 09:40 PDT

A-third of the Reform leader’s income has come from overseas interests since he became an MP.

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