With the Twenty-First Conference on climate change (COP 21) set to begin in Paris at the end of November‚ President Jacob Zuma released a statement on Thursday that put much of the blame for climate change at the door of developing countries‚ which he said were less serious about combatting the problem.
Zuma said the agreement to be reached at the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 21) “has to set the world on a trajectory to keep the increase in average global temperature since the start of the industrial era to below two degrees Centigrade”.
He said the developed world had been responsible for the largest emissions of greenhouse gases‚ and South Africa “has the special responsibility of advancing the collective and shared interests of developing countries in the negotiations for the Paris Agreement”.
“Our society has long since been forced to adapt to the reality of a changing climate and increasingly frequent extreme weather events that are the result of emissions of greenhouse gases generated over centuries‚ predominantly by developed countries.”
South Africa submitted its plan‚ the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)‚ to the UNFCCC Secretariat “well ahead of the Paris conference” because it was serious about combatting climate change. “The level of ambition contained in our INDC is an affirmation of the seriousness of our commitment as government to deal with climate change.”
The government conducted a lengthy process of consultation to produce a “an INDC that is ambitious‚ fair and pro-development. It takes into account South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty‚ inequality and unemployment‚ but yet still represents a progression beyond the voluntary pledge we announced at the Copenhagen COP in 2009‚” said Zuma.
Referring to studies by civil society groups and scientists‚ Zuma said these studies “clearly show that we are not on track to meeting the less than two degree goal and that there is a serious disparity between the ambitious plans submitted by developing countries and the far less ambitious plans from developed countries”.
“Our message ahead of Paris is that climate change is a global problem‚ requiring a global solution‚ which can only be effectively addressed multilaterally‚ under the broad based legitimacy of the UNFCCC and with all Parties contributing their fair share.”
Climate warming stoked by developing countries‚ says Zuma
With the Twenty-First Conference on climate change (COP 21) set to begin in Paris at the end of November‚ President Jacob Zuma released a statement on Thursday that put much of the blame for climate change at the door of developing countries‚ which he said were less serious about combatting the problem.
Zuma said the agreement to be reached at the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 21) “has to set the world on a trajectory to keep the increase in average global temperature since the start of the industrial era to below two degrees Centigrade”.
He said the developed world had been responsible for the largest emissions of greenhouse gases‚ and South Africa “has the special responsibility of advancing the collective and shared interests of developing countries in the negotiations for the Paris Agreement”.
“Our society has long since been forced to adapt to the reality of a changing climate and increasingly frequent extreme weather events that are the result of emissions of greenhouse gases generated over centuries‚ predominantly by developed countries.”
South Africa submitted its plan‚ the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)‚ to the UNFCCC Secretariat “well ahead of the Paris conference” because it was serious about combatting climate change. “The level of ambition contained in our INDC is an affirmation of the seriousness of our commitment as government to deal with climate change.”
The government conducted a lengthy process of consultation to produce a “an INDC that is ambitious‚ fair and pro-development. It takes into account South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty‚ inequality and unemployment‚ but yet still represents a progression beyond the voluntary pledge we announced at the Copenhagen COP in 2009‚” said Zuma.
Referring to studies by civil society groups and scientists‚ Zuma said these studies “clearly show that we are not on track to meeting the less than two degree goal and that there is a serious disparity between the ambitious plans submitted by developing countries and the far less ambitious plans from developed countries”.
“Our message ahead of Paris is that climate change is a global problem‚ requiring a global solution‚ which can only be effectively addressed multilaterally‚ under the broad based legitimacy of the UNFCCC and with all Parties contributing their fair share.”
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