With just less than three months before the international climate change summit in Durban, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will host the provincial summit on climate change on 8-9 September in Johannesburg. Ms Nandi Mayathula-Khoza is inviting stakeholders and all sectors of society to participate in this important summit in order to intensify the awareness of climate change and its impact.
The main objectives of the Provincial Summit are to create awareness, and mobilise around climate change and identify viable projects to support implementation of the Green Economy in Gauteng. The department expects participation of environmental activists who are involved in environmental/climate change education and mitigation and adaptation projects to play a critical role during the summit.
The Provincial Summit will be linked with Gauteng Water Sector Forum because water and climate change pose similar challenges to provincial economic development and in the way these challenges need to be addressed. This approach will ensure alignment of different provincial strategies and efficiency in awareness building and mobilisation.
The threat of climate change is one of the most important environmental risks facing humanity. In response to the threat posed by climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was formed. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty which aims to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for second economy countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The last COP (COP 16) was held in Cancun, Mexico. This year, COP 17 will be held in Durban, South Africa. COP 17 will also include a large South African Expo showcasing various projects geared towards mitigating climate change and adapting to it.
Pre-registration is compulsory and can be be done at the following website http://millenniumconferences.co.za/deaindex.html or contact Ms Rina Taviv on 011 355 1989. The event will take place on Friday 09 September 2011 at Gallagher Estates in Midrand.
