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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the much anticipated start of COP17 in Durban on Monday. It is not only an opportunity to find a common ground on one of the major global challenges we face today, but also for South Africa to demonstrate its goodwill and professionalism when hosting conferences of international significance. South Africa is admired worldwide for the way we negotiated a peaceful transition to democracy 17 years ago, and we can thus play a leading role the complex deliberations which will take place in Durban over the next two weeks.

The DA supports the call for a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, but we understand that it is unlikely to be achieved. Our government must however do everything possible to ensure that efforts to achieve a comprehensive climate regime remain on track. At the very least there needs to a political agreement that extends the commitment period under Kyoto, so that mitigation efforts by developed countries continue, and, so that key mechanisms such as the reporting on emissions remain in place.

It is also vitally important that there is finalisation of the Green Fund, and that developed countries are held to their commitment to contribute $100bn a year to the fund by 2020.

We must remember that it is the developed world that owes the rest of the world the greatest commitment to action.

Domestically, South Africa must act on climate change, but we must also be cautious. Transitioning to a low carbon future is complex, and while timeframes to do so are tight, we must not put our economic growth and jobs at risk.

The DA wishes the South African negotiating team all the best for COP17. The team will ultimately be accountable to the South African public. Its mandate is not without limits though, and our negotiators must be sure that what they argue for is possible, reasonable, and to best of their ability, in our own national interest.