The interface of energy and the environment as an opportunity for North-South dialogue

The North-South dialogue has undergone a lot of metamorphosis for the past three decades or so; from the Cold War, detente, ping-pong diplomacy to the current cooperation involved in the numerous international protocols and conventions; particularly the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. The crafting of the different protocols and agreements was preceded by North-South dialogue between renowned physical scientists, researchers and social scientists. The strong energy/environment interface has also given rise to an active North-South dialogue in the search for global solutions to environmental degradation. The healthy debate that has hitherto characterised some of the international conferences on various environmental conventions attests to a new North-South interaction through dialogue. This paper will elicit some of the processes, discussions, difficulties and benefits that emanate from the new cc-operation in the global energy environment interface, with a slant towards the global climate change phenomenon.