23 June 2006
Ministers and heads of delegation from 22 countries met at Kapama Lodge,
South Africa, for a Ministerial Indaba on Climate Action. The meeting was
hosted by Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk. The indaba provided Ministers with
the opportunity to consider key issues for the climate change agenda for the
long term, as well as for the next round of talks under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol to be held in
Nairobi later this year.
The Montréal Action Plan, agreed to last year, launched a dual track process
aimed at the widest possible co-operation and broadening participation in an
effective and appropriate international response to climate change. An ad hoc
working group was mandated to discuss future commitments by developed countries
under article 3.9 of the Kyoto Protocol ("the Kyoto track"). Under the guidance
of the conference of the parties a dialogue was established to discuss how the
long term co-operative action by developing countries to address climate change
could be deepened through enhanced implementation of the convention ("the
convention track").
Given the breadth of the climate change agenda, deliberations at indaba
focussed on unpacking the central elements of effective long term co-operation
under the convention track. The key areas of discussion included an overview of
the current status of the climate change regime, the economic case for action,
sustainable development, adaptation, technology transfer, positive incentives
and the way forward.
Reflecting on the talks Minister van Schalkwyk said; "Rather than
reiterating historical positions, the indaba discussions were forward looking
and concrete and enhanced our common understanding of the challenges and
opportunities facing developed and developing countries. Since the scientific
case for action has been widely accepted, we discussed the economic case for
urgently addressing climate change in much detail."
Minister Van Schalkwyk furthermore stressed that all countries have
responsibilities and must do more. Noting the particular vulnerabilities of
African countries, Ministers shared the view that the implementation of high
priority adaptation activities is critical and acknowledged the challenge of
mobilising funding at the scale required.
The indaba provided a creative basis for further discussions about the
overall architecture of a post 2012 climate regime. Ministers expressed
interest in developing and testing a number of options possibly in the form of
scenarios or packages by the end of 2007. Such options could include national
sustainable development policies and programmes supported through technology
enabled by finance. Adaptation will need to be a core element to give balance
to any package.
Van Schalkwyk stressed the importance of political leadership on the climate
issue; "Our attempts to address climate change would not succeed if Ministers
are led by public opinion. They should rather play an active leadership role in
influencing public opinion." In this context Van Schalkwyk called for "a global
public awareness and education programme to provide the political momentum to
the future climate change process."
Being very aware of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on
livelihoods in Africa the continent's adaptation challenges and the lack of
capacity to share in the clean development mechanism, Ministers looked forward
to active participation during the conference of the parties in Nairobi in
November 2006. "We understand that hard work and political will shall be
required to sustain and consolidate a creative space for innovative thought and
action that would maintain a forward-looking momentum," said Van Schalkwyk.
Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
23 June 2006
