The Department of Environmental Affairs has noted media reports questioning the size of the South African delegation attending the 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, France.
Climate change is one of the major global challenges of the 21st century. It is an economic, social and environmental challenge that requires political leadership and co-ordination across all sectors and spheres of government, as well as engagement with leaders of business, labour, civil society and research institutions. South Africa’s delegation must therefore be representative of all key national departments as well provinces and local government, and all key stakeholder groupings, under the leadership of the Department of Environmental Affairs.
Later today, 11 December 2015, Ministers and delegates from more than 196 countries are expected to conclude a new ambitious, fair and effective multilateral legal instrument, applicable to all Parties, which will provide the legal basis for addressing the global challenge of climate change from 2020. In this process, South Africa is leading negotiations on finance, technology and capacity building, on behalf of the Africa Group, and is the chair of the Group of 77 & China, which is negotiating on behalf of developing countries. We are also engaging actively in the negotiations on pre 2020 implementation programmes.
The agreement would have come about as a result of long hours, working around the clock, on complex multiple parallel work streams, formal and informal meetings, negotiations and consultation sessions and side events.
The Department of Environmental Affairs and all sister departments that are represented at these climate negotiations, abide strictly by the cost containment requirements spelt out by the South African Government. As directed by Cabinet, the National Treasury memorandum elaborates on the flight, accommodation and other measures to be taken to ensure reasonable government expenditure.
It is therefore highly imperative that those who write articles, must address the context and facts. It is not helpful that when our teams spend sleepless nights serving their nation, South Africa, in ensuring that our national interest is fully secured and that our planet is saved (in the climate change negotiations context), some distort facts and underestimate the magnitude of work being done here, and only try to focus on counting heads out of context and facts and therefore try to mislead our nation.
Our South African team is determined to do our nation proud and shall not be deterred by "uninformed critics".
“South Africa is regarded as a constructive negotiator, because it plays a major role in ensuring that parties reach consensus in the negotiations. For example, South Africa has worked hard to ensure that adaptation to the impacts of climate change is recognised as a global responsibility in new legal agreement. This ensures that African countries will be supported in their efforts to address the irreversible effects of climate change on water and food security, health and infrastructure, in the context of increasing global temperatures. We must do everything in our power to secure and pass on to future generations, a country, continent and world that is resilient to the impacts of climate change.
"South Africa’s active and vigorous participation in these negotiations, and our commitment to ensuring an ambitious, fair and effective legally binding outcome that concludes the Durban Mandate, negotiated under our leadership in 2011, is therefore not negotiable," Minister of Environmental Affairs Ms. Edna Molewa said.
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