25 September 2009 -
Media statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs - FRIDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2009: Ms
Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of
Water and Environmental Affairs, arrived
this morning from her nine day visit to
the US where she raised the profile of adaptation
for Africa, taking into account poverty
eradication thereby balancing development
imperatives and addressing the impacts of
climate change.
She attended official
engagements with various international stakeholders
as part of preparations for the December
UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
(COP15). Minister Sonjica was well received
by her counterparts and sought after for
her views which enriched the debate. The
Minister also championed the cause of Africa
as Chair of the African Ministerial Conference
on Environment (AMCEN), informed by a developing
country perspective.
She attended the Major
Economies Forum (MEF) on Energy and Climate
in Washington from 17 - 18 September, which
was attended by seventeen of the world’s
major economies. This was immediately followed
by the Greenland Dialogue on the 19 - 20
September in New York, with a broader group
that includes not only Developed Countries,
but a wider variety of developing countries
groupings such as Least Developed Countries
and Small Island Developing States.
The meetings addressed
issues in the areas of mitigation and adaptation,
with focus on finance, technology and capacity
building. She used the platform to highlight
the significance of adaptation, which she
emphasized was a priority for Africa as
the most vulnerable continent despite the
issue being relegated to the periphery in
the negotiations. As such convergence was
reached on ‘fast track’ adaptation funding
for the period between 2010 and 2012, without
prejudicing the outcome of the negotiations
for the period beyond 2012.
The meetings further
deliberated modalities and mechanisms for
mitigation, with the Minister calling for
leadership by developing countries in taking
deeper emission reduction commitments in
order to meet the Required by Science levels
of carbon dioxide concentration. The commitment
of developing countries through their commitments
to action threw the gauntlet back to the
developed countries, with China having committed
to a 15% contribution of clean energy to
the country’s energy mix, whilst Brazil
committed to an 80% reduction in deforestation
by 2020, both following the lead of South
Africa’s commitment to a plateau of emissions
by 2020-2025.
The Minister further
committed to the need for developmental
space of developing countries, hence the
inability to take emission reduction targets
beyond the ambitious actions outlined in
the various announcements by developing
countries. She emphasised particularly that
the developing countries are grappling with
delivery against the Millennium Development
Goals, access to energy, and energy security.
The minister encouraged
all parties to respect the letter and spirit
of the convention particularly that of ‘common
but differentiated responsibility’ as it
takes into cognizance the historical responsibility
of developed countries, the current capabilities
of various countries, and social justice
by recognizing the development gap between
developed and developing countries.
From the 22nd of September
the Minister attended the UN Secretary General’s
Summit on Climate Change, which was designed
to galvanise world leaders into action towards
an ambitious and concrete outcome in the
international negotiations on climate change
scheduled for completion at Copenhagen.
She contributed as a thought leader on the
Round Table on Business and Climate Change.
As part of President Zuma’s delegation to
the UN General Assembly, the Minister was
part of bilaterals with key countries over
and above her bilaterals which included,
India, Denmark, World Bank, Sri Lanka, UK,
USA, China, IRENA and the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF) as part of her effort to
build bridges to facilitate a resolution
to many of the outstanding issues in the
international negotiation process.
Note: The Ministry of
Water and Environmental Affairs comprises
two separate departments. The departments
are: the Department of Environmental Affairs
and the Department of Water Affairs.
Albi Modise (Chief Director: Communications)
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MESSAGE BY SOUTH AFRICAN
PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA TO THE UN SECRETARY
GENERAL’S HIGH LEVEL SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
22 September 2009 –
Speech - Department of Environmental Affairs
- South Africa welcomes the initiative by
the UN Secretary General to convene Heads
of State on the important matter of climate
change. For Africa, the impact of climate
change is devastating, and will severely
undermine development and poverty eradication
efforts.
Climate change affects agricultural yields,
and therefore food security.
It affects people’s
access to water in an already water-stressed
region. Rural people are compromised by
the impact on ecosystems that support their
livelihoods. Coastal areas will be flooded,
affecting people’s homes and livelihoods
and damaging coastal infrastructure.
These developments affect
every aspect of society – social, economic
and environmental.
We need to act now to ensure there is a
global agreement on this critical challenge.
The global agreement should be guided by
a shared vision. It should be inclusive,
fair and effective.
It must recognise that solving the climate
problem cannot be separated from the struggle
to eradicate poverty.
It must be based on
sound science. It must strike a balance
between adaptation and mitigation, and it
must address the means of implementation.
There needs to be agreement on new, additional,
sustainable and predictable financing for
adaptation. This should be for programmes
that reduce the vulnerability of developing
countries to the effects of climate change.
On mitigation, the agreement
must contain ambitious, quantified, and
legally binding emission reduction commitments
by developed countries. It must set the
framework for mitigation actions by developing
countries that are supported and enabled
by finance and technology.
We need to acknowledge
and maintain the distinction between the
responsibilities of developed countries
and those of developing countries. Our goal
should be to significantly reduce emissions
across the globe without constraining development
in the countries of the South.
Leadership by all developed
countries, through emission reduction commitments
that are in line with science and that address
their historical responsibilities, would
ensure much needed progress in the international
negotiations. Now is the time to act, and
to act decisively.
