The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Cabinet Statement (10 Sep 2009) providing comments on the South African government's position for the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Copenhagen lacks ambition and ignores previous government commitments on climate change. It also says nothing about how the government will engage with developed countries about their commitments to respond to climate change. There is no surprise in government stating that it will not commit to binding emission reduction targets, as should be the case for developed countries. Government has made this position clear on numerous occasions before and the Democratic Alliance (DA) agrees with it. While government does say it is committed to "taking responsible action" to reduce emissions, the stark realities of the Long Term Mitigation Scenarios for South Africa (LTMSS) are ignored. We know from the LTMS that without constraints South Africa's emissions could quadruple by 2050. The latest Cabinet statement does nothing to reinforce the statement on climate change that followed the Cabinet lekgotla in July 2008. Following that meeting Minister Van Schalkwyk said that substantial deviations below business-as-usual baselines are required for developing countries. Further he said that emissions would need to peak between 2020 and 2025, then stabilise for up to ten years, followed by an absolute decline. For this reason the DA believes the latest Cabinet statement is weak and lacks the required detail, especially considering that we are less than one hundred days away from the start of the Copenhagen negotiations. The DA believes that the South African economy can continue to grow while at the same time making the adjustments required to become a low carbon economy. We believe that mitigation action over the medium to long term will create new opportunities for development and job creation. South Africa needs to reinforce the fact to developed countries, which have a historic responsibility for the vast majority of emissions, that we acknowledge the common challenge of climate action and that we are prepared, in time, to deviate below the business-as-usual level. This is an important position if we are to push the developed world into the ambitious emissions reductions that are required by science. The DA, however, welcomes Cabinet's announcement of the formation of an Inter-Ministerial Committee to develop the country's final mandate for the UNFCCC. We trust that future statements will be more purposeful and will acknowledge that South Africa, despite not taking on binding emission reduction targets, is prepared to play its role in responding to climate change.