Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr Narend Singh, opening remarks during plenary meeting at the Ninth Ministerial on Climate Action in Toronto, Canada
Session 1: Mobilizing finance, technology and capacity building to accelerate the transition to low-carbon, resilient economies
South Africa welcomes the focus of this session, as the means of implementation, finance, technology, and capacity building, remain the cornerstone for enabling effective and equitable climate action. The global landscape of support for climate action must be strengthened to respond to both the scale of the challenge and the differentiated needs of developing countries.
First, COP30 must deliver a transformative outcome on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), one that is ambitious, needs-based, and reflective of science and equity. The new goal must ensure scaled-up, predictable, grant-based, and non-debt-creating finance, underpinned by transparency and accountability.
Second, we need to ensure that public finance catalyses much greater flows of private investment toward mitigation and adaptation priorities. This will require improved policy certainty, enhanced risk-sharing instruments, and stronger partnerships between governments, development finance institutions, and the private sector.
Third, the Loss and Damage Fund must become fully operational and begin disbursing resources as soon as possible. This fund must be new and additional and should complement, not substitute, existing adaptation and mitigation finance.
Fourth, COP30 should enhance the landscape of technology cooperation. The next decade must focus on practical technology transfer, particularly for renewable energy, adaptation technologies, and climate-smart agriculture. We must move beyond pilot projects to scalable deployment in developing countries.
Fifth, capacity building must be treated as a core enabler supporting not only technical training, but also institutional strengthening, data systems, and project preparation capacities to ensure countries can effectively access and utilise available finance.
Finally, South Africa recognises emerging opportunities in Just Transition finance linking climate investments to socioeconomic transformation. Through mechanisms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), we are learning that concessional, flexible, and blended finance aligned with national priorities can advance both climate and development outcomes.
In conclusion, COP30 must be a turning point for delivery, signalling that the promises of the Paris Agreement are being fulfilled through a robust support framework that empowers all countries to act, particularly those most in need.
Thank you.
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