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Ref: 02/1/5/2
MINISTER
QUESTION NO. 549 FOR WRITTEN REPLY: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
A draft reply to Mr N J J v R Koornhof (Cope) to the above-mentioned
question is enclosed for your consideration.
Ms Nosipho Ngcaba
DIRECTOR-GENERAL
DATE:
DRAFT REPLY APPROVED/AMENDED
MRS B E E MOLEWA, MP
MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
DATE:
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
(For written reply)
QUESTION NO. 549
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 3 NW596E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 25 February 2011
Mr N J J v R Koornhof (Cope) to ask the Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs:
Whether the Government is fully prepared to serve as a role model at
COP17 in 2011 and to clinch by example and moral authority the agreement
on carbon emission that has so far eluded every other COP attempt; if
not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Mr N J J v R Koornhof (Cope)
SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT
HANSARD
PAPERS OFFICE
PRESS
549. THE MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ANSWERS:
First and foremost Honourable member should appreciate the fact that COP17
is a meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and as such the nature of the outcome will be determined by the
Parties to the Convention and itsâ Kyoto Protocol. The second point is that
Mexico is the current Conference of Parties (COP) President and that South
Africa will assume the COP Presidency at the start of the meeting in
Durban. South Africa and Mexico have agreed to work together during the
year where we will jointly convene Informal Consultation sessions with a
view to build international consensus around an ambitious and realistic
outcome for the COP in Durban. Our willingness and eagerness to jointly
convene these Informal Consultation sessions is a clear indication of how
seriously we take this UN Conference to be held in Durban.
The Parties to the UNFCCC will need to show some flexibility in their
negotiating positions for Durban to achieve a respectable outcome as
happened in Cancun last year. However, we are mindful of the facts that
have led to the deal eluding the nations of the world. The main challenges
have not changed, for example, the United States of America is apparently
still not in a position where it can commit itself to a legally binding
international climate change regime. Japan and the Russian Federation have
made it clear that they are not in a position to enter into any new legally
binding agreement for as long as USA and China are not bound by such an
agreement. However, a lack of new agreement on climate change is a priority
for countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as
African countries and Small Developing Island States. It is for this reason
that South Africa is taking on this mammoth task of hosting COP17. We
appreciate that the development of a future climate change regime has been
going on for a while and will continue even after Durban.
--ooOoo---