sustainable development and climate change
16 March 2007
South Africa and the United Kingdom have today agreed to team up to tackle
key international sustainable development issues including climate change.
The South African Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus
van Schalkwyk, and UK Environment Secretary, David Milliband, released a joint
statement establishing the South Africa-UK High-Level Dialogue on Sustainable
Development, including a Working Group on Climate Change.
The Dialogue is designed to strengthen bilateral ties in a broad range of
policy areas and provide leadership on sustainable development. It also aims to
provide a framework for cross-government collaboration on both sides and for
contacts between stakeholders in each country.
The talks, which took pace in Potsdam in the margins of the G8 Environment
Ministers meeting, will lead to co-operation on a range of sustainable
development issues, including climate change, environmental enforcement and
mainstreaming sustainable development.
Minister Van Schalkwyk said: "South Africa and the UK will use this joint
working programme as a platform for practical co-operation in order to advance
our sustainable development and climate change policies and actions. The
challenges are immense and this partnership will assist us to find and
implement solutions. We are determined to use this platform to address
sustainable development in all three of its dimensions: ecological, economic
and social. A high-level dialogue on sustainable development is in our national
interest and will contribute to the achievement of the Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) objectives."
The working group on climate change will formulate a full programme
including work on the adaptation and impacts; it has already agreed to
undertake joint research work on possible forms of long-term global action on
climate change.
The key themes in the SA-UK Sustainable Dialogue are:
* climate change and energy for sustainable development
* sustainable consumption and production
* environmental enforcement
* mainstreaming sustainable development.
Under the mainstreaming sustainable development theme, both governments may
look at collaboration on natural resource protection and sustainable
management, sustainable communities and engaging the private sector and
financial institutions.
The full text of the joint statement follows:
1. This Joint Statement outlines the intent of the two Governments to give
concrete effect to the objectives related to sustainable development contained
in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Republic of South Africa
and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1995.
2. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) (2002) and the
Millennium Summit (2000) outlined the key challenges facing human societies and
set an ambitious agenda for the international community in the 21st
century.
3. In an increasingly interdependent world, achieving progress on the WSSD's
Programme of Implementation and the Millennium Development Goals will require
leadership by governments and co-operation at multiple levels.
4. Sustainable development provides a conceptual framework within which
nations can make informed and balanced choices to achieve economic growth,
combat environmental degradation and make social progress at the same time. It
also provides a sound basis for securing peace and stability.
5. At the national level, both the Republic of South Africa's National
Framework for Sustainable Development and the UK's Sustainable Development
Strategy seek to ensure that the environmental and social dimensions of
development are integrated into national policies in order to meet both
national aspirations and our international commitments.
6. The challenges are global. Co-operation and shared learning is needed
between countries and entities if we are to meet them.
7. South Africa and the UK have much to gain from collaboration in this
field and both countries are committed to deepening our partnership on
sustainable development and related issues. The two countries hereby launch the
UK-South Africa High-level Dialogue on Sustainable Development on the date of
the signature thereof.
8. This Dialogue is designed to strengthen bilateral ties across a range of
policy areas and to provide leadership on sustainable development. There is an
intention in both countries for an approach to addressing common challenges
that will create new opportunities and mutual benefits.
9. The overall direction of the dialogue will be set through Ministerial
meetings and we will endeavour to alternate the venue of these meetings between
the UK and South Africa.
10. This Ministerial-level dialogue will guide joint initiatives on the
themes which reflect ongoing debates and concerns in both countries. The aim of
this work will be to share experiences and help deliver mutually beneficial
solutions facilitated through the Dialogue, official exchanges, research,
projects and partnerships.
From the UK, it may include representatives from the:
a. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
b. Department of Trade and Industry
c. Department for International Development
d. Foreign and Commonwealth Office
e. Office of Science and Innovation in the United Kingdom.
From South Africa it may include representatives from the:
a. Department of Foreign Affairs
b. Department of Environmental Affairs And Tourism
c. Department of Agriculture
d. Department of Land Affairs
e. Department of Minerals and Energy
f. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
g. Department of Science and Technology.
Further, it may include representatives from:
a. academia, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society
groups
b. business, industry and the scientific community.
11. Furthermore, we aim to stimulate multi-stakeholder engagement in both
countries to make for a richer Dialogue, as well as bring additional expertise
and momentum for follow-up actions as relevant.
12. The following is a list of themes common to both the UK Sustainable
Development Strategy and South African National Framework for Sustainable
Development which forms the framework for co-operation under the Sustainable
Development Dialogue:
a. climate change and energy for sustainable development
b. environmental enforcement
c. mainstreaming sustainable development and governance challenges
d. sustainable consumption and production.
13. Under the "mainstreaming sustainable development" theme, the following
sub-themes may be further elaborated:
a. natural resource protection and sustainable management
b. sustainable communities (urbanisation)
c. private sector and financial institutions.
14. The detailed outline of management mechanisms, the agreed initiatives,
official exchanges, research, projects and partnerships for each of the above
themes will be appended to this statement as Annexes when fully elaborated.
Ministers may agree to amend this list of themes as they see fit.
Media enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
16 March 2007
