President Jacob Zuma arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark this morning, Thursday 17 December 2009 to attend the UN Climate Change Conference. He will be attending the High Level Segment of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties (CMP5) to the Kyoto Protocol.
President Zuma will be joining over 100 heads of state and government for the adoption of the decisions and conclusions of the conference tomorrow. The conference, which has been underway since 7 December, aims to reach a political agreement that will lay the basis for a significant reduction in global carbon emissions and measures to address the effects of climate change.
President Zuma will attend a gala dinner hosted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II and Prince Consort HRH Prince Henrik of Denmark at the Christiansborg Palace on Thursday evening.
On Friday he will attend an informal high-level event of heads of state and government, followed by a luncheon hosted by Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. In the afternoon he will attend the plenary session of the COP and CMP, which is expected to adopt the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference.
President Zuma has stressed the need for the global community to act with urgency to reach agreement to avert a potential global disaster. This is particularly pressing for Africa, which is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Failure to reach agreement at this conference will condemn future generations to a world ravaged by the impact of climate change.
South Africa has argued throughout the negotiations that the outcome of Copenhagen must give effect to the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Developed countries are historically responsible for 90 percent of the current emissions in the atmosphere. Yet, developing countries are most affected by climate change, while pursuing their own development path.
South Africa’s position is that all developed countries must commit to ambitious, legally binding emission reduction targets. This in line with their historic responsibility and in line with needs of science.
Developing countries should commit to nationally appropriate mitigation action, to achieve a decline in emissions relative to business as usual. This would be conditional on finance, technology and capacity building support from developed countries.
Developed countries must comply with their obligations under the convention to provide new and additional financial resources and technology for developing country action on both mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (addressing the impact of climate change).
President Zuma will leave Denmark for South Africa on Friday evening.
For more information contact Presidential Spokesperson:
Vincent Magwenya
Cell: 072 7150 024
Issued by: The Presidency
17 December 2009
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/)
