President Jacob Zuma to attende climate change talks in Copenhague

06 December 2009 - Media statement - ISSUED BY OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY - SUNDAY, 06 DECEMBER 2009: President Jacob Zuma has accepted the invitation from the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mr Lars Løkke Rasmussen, to attend the Heads of State and Government Segment of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change, (UNFCCC) and the 5th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP-5) to the Kyoto Protocol, from 17-18 December 2009.

The President will be joined by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and senior officials.

COP15 brings together all signatories to the UN Climate Change Convention to negotiate a more equitable, ambitious and effective global pact to combat climate change beyond 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCC comes to an end and a second commitment period must begin.

South Africa enters this phase of negotiations advocating for a successful outcome that will be inclusive, fair and effective; that has a balance between adaptation and mitigation; and a balance between development and climate imperatives. Success in Copenhagen should strengthen climate resilient development and must urgently assist the world’s poorest and most vulnerable to adapt to the inevitable impacts of a rapidly changing climate.

For South Africa, the major contributor to our emissions of Green House Gasses is our energy sector. However, the issue for developing countries like ours is not merely about addressing our Green House Gas emissions but also about energy security and energy access as well. The greatest challenge we face is how to ensure both energy security and access as a developmental imperative and at the same time laying the foundation for moving towards a path of low carbon growth. In the short to medium term we have an immediate energy supply challenge which alternative energy supply options cannot meet at affordable cost and at the scale needed, therefore, we are aggressively pursuing carbon efficient coal technology, in the medium term.

The science is very clear - there is no “silver bullet” - climate change is a huge global challenge which will take a combination of the full range of available interventions, technologies, policies and behavior changes to resolve the climate problem. It will also demand massive investment in new low carbon technologies. Economies across the world have to put long-term plans in place to transition towards a low carbon growth path. In this context, we have modeled South Africa’s mitigation potential and potential low carbon solutions in the Long Term Mitigation Scenario (LTMS) study. This work is being used to inform the policy choices that will allow us to aggressively address climate change in a way that unleashes the job creation and developmental opportunities of a 21st Century “Green Economy”.

As such, South Africa, being a responsible global citizen and in line with its obligations under article 4.1 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change acknowledges its responsibility to undertake national action that will contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In accordance with this, South Africa will undertake mitigation actions which will result in a deviation below the current emissions baseline of around 34% by 2020 and by around 42% by 2025. This level of effort enables South Africa’s emissions to peak between 2020 and 2025, plateau for approximately a decade and decline in absolute terms thereafter. This undertaking is conditional on firstly, a fair, ambitious and effective agreement in the international climate change negotiations under the Climate Change convention and its’ Kyoto Protocol and secondly, the provision of support, from the international community, and in particular finance, technology and support for capacity building from developed countries, in line with their commitments under both the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan.

The potential for multilateral finance to unlock ambitious mitigation actions is already evident in recent events. For example, South Africa’s successful application to the Clean Technology Investment Fund has successfully mobilized $500 million, leveraged to over $1,6billion from other multi-lateral sources in order to support the establishment of a i) 100MW utility scale wind power generation; ii) 100MW Concentrated Solar Power Plant iii) conversion from electric water heating to solar water heaters for 1 million households, and; iv) scaling up of energy efficiency projects as leverage for commercial and industrial sectors. Clearly the scale of support enables a concomitant level of action.

In this regard, South Africa emphasizes that an ambitious and long term financing package for both adaptation and mitigation is a central element of the Copenhagen negotiations and one that will have significant impact on the extent to which developing countries can take mitigation action.

Note to Editors: The Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs comprises of two separate departments. The departments are: Department of Water Affairs and Department of Environmental Affairs.
Vincent Magwenya (Spokesperson to the President)
World Cup Nations Team Up Against Climate Change
More than half of Qualified Teams Commit to Offsetting their
Journeys to South Africa

News Comes as UNEP-GEF Announce $1 million Funding for Climate-Friendly Actions in Six Host Cities Copenhagen, 7 December 2009 – As the climate talks kick off in Copenhagen, key football nations are teaming up for the planet for the biggest sport event of
2010.

More than half of the countries that have qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have committed or pledged to offset the emissions of their teams’ and officials’ flights to South Africa for the competition.

Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, England, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Serbia, USA, Uruguay and host country South Africa are among the squads determined to score green goals for the environment in 2010.

Tackling transport is central to greening the World Cup, as emissions generated by the teams’ and spectators’ international travel to South Africa will make up more than 67 per cent of the event’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The news was announced in Copenhagen on the first day of the UN climate talks, during a press conference with representatives of the seventeen World Cup teams alongside Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.

Achim Steiner said: “Today footballing nations representing millions if not billions of fans are standing up and being counted as environmental ambassadors for one of the greatest spectator events in the calendar. Every one of the teams is determined to make a sporting impact in South Africa while reducing their impact on the global environment. I hope the remaining nations participating in South Africa will want to come on-side for the climate in order to score their own green goals in 2010”.

2 The news comes as UNEP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) announced further support towards greening the World Cup with a one million dollar funding package.

With GEF funding, UNEP is supporting the Green Goal 2010 Programme, which aims to ensure that the World Cup has a long-term sustainable impact on the country and the region.

The project will help six of the host cities reduce their energy consumption by installing solar-powered and energy-efficient street lamps, traffic lights and billboards in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.

The GEF is also supporting a responsible tourism initiative through the Green Passport, which will be distributed widely to visitors during the World Cup to provide people with tips on how to travel sustainably.

Monique Barbut, GEF CEO and Chairperson, said: “The GEF is committed to acting locally for global impact. This project aims to leave an environmental legacy in South Africa long after the last whistle blows. We look forward to working with our partners to help deliver new and innovative ways to mitigate and compensate emissions generated by mass events.”

The GEF funding will complement existing green initiatives by the South Africa 2010 organizers including investments in public transport, rainwater harvesting, recycling and tree planting drives at the Host Cities across South Africa.

In Cape Town, which has set a target of 50 per cent of fans travelling to the 2010 stadiums by public transport, the World Cup has catalyzed significant investment by the city in public transport and non-motorized transport facilities. The city’s brand-new integrated rapid transit system will be operational by June 2010, and new pedestrian and bicycle lanes are being built around the city.

Other initiatives by South African organizers include multi-bin systems for recycling in catering areas at World Cup venues, the cleanup of waste hot spots in Mangaung, education programmes on soccer and the environment for 40 schools in Cape Town, and the planting of 200,000 trees around Johannesburg.

Notes to Editors

The Green Goal initiative was first kicked off during the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany through a partnership between UNEP, the organizers of the 2006 World Cup and the German Federal Government. The pioneering initiative aims to make the World Cup more environmentally-sustainable in the areas of water, waste, energy and mobility.

UNEP’s Sport and Environment Programme aims to promote the links between sport and the environment. It builds on the UNEP Governing Council’s long-term strategy on sport and the environment, adopted in 2003. The strategy also seeks to strengthen partnerships with sports organizations and federations such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 179 countries in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest funder of projects to improve the global environment. An independent financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, GEF has achieved a strong track record with developing countries and countries with economies in transition, providing $8.6 billion in grants and leveraging $36.1 billion in co-financing for more than 2,400 projects in over 165 countries.
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of Media
Theodore Oben, Chief, UNEP Outreach
Maureen Shields Lorenzetti, GEF Media Relations, Washington D.C. on cell:

Do South African Environmental