Date: Monday, 5 December
Time: 10h00 to 18h00
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
A meeting of Parliaments worldwide, organised jointly by the Parliament of South Africa and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), is set to adopt a declaration on climate change for presentation to the COP 17.
The declaration, scheduled for formal adoption at the meeting at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Monday includes:
- Reiteration that a transparent and open multilateral process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the only forum for negotiations on climate change and that it is necessary to ensure that the interests of the developing countries, in particular the most vulnerable, are protected. Reaffirmation of the urgent need to support developing countries in their adaptation efforts, particularly the most vulnerable of the small island developing States (SIDS), the least developed countries (LDCs) and countries in Africa.
- A call on the Parties to prioritise disaster risk reduction and capacity-building as cross-cutting issues and to give the matter their utmost attention.
- The mobilisation of financial resources and transfer of technology by developed country Parties as per their commitment under the UNFCCC to deal with climate change and that governance issues and institutional arrangements be dealt with transparently and efficiently, ensuring accessibility and an equal footing for developed and developing countries in the governance and administration of climate funds and technology flows.
- A call for the operationalisation of all the institutions established under the Cancún Agreements, including the Adaptation Committee, the Technology Executive Committee, Centre and Network, the Registry, the Work Programme and Forum on the Response Measures, and the Green Climate Fund.
- Reaffirmation of the strong belief that parliaments should be granted an appropriate status at the UNFCCC negotiations process and undertaking to campaign for the attainment of this objective.
- A resolution to enhance parliaments’ oversight of government action and commitments relating to climate change negotiations and to advance peer support to those parliaments that are less able to fulfil their oversight functions.
A draft of the declaration is attached, as is a programme for the meeting, or you can view it at www.ipu.org.
Members of the media accredited for COP 17 who wish to attend the IPU meeting should RSVP Nolizwi Magwagwa at nmagwagwa@parliament.gov.za or on 083 313 1323 by 16h00 on Saturday, 3 December.
About the IPU: The IPU is the international organisation of Parliaments and was established in 1889. It is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue.
