Wednesday, November 18, 2009
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Brindaveni Naidoo.
Making headlines:
Newly appointed South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Gill Marcus emphasised yesterday that she does not see her appointment as politically motivated.
Following her announcement that the SARB's Monetary Policy Committee had decided to keep the key repo rate unchanged at 7%, Marcus said that she is "not bound to anyone politically".
Marcus added that she welcomed debate around the Central Bank's focus and mandate, acknowledging that the weekend Alliance Summit of the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions had decided to set up a task team to review the Central Bank's role.

African leaders agreed yesterday on the amount of money to demand from the rich world to compensate for the impact of climate change on the continent. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who will represent Africa at the talks, said that African nations had set a minimum standard, but would not reveal the figure.
Meles said at an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa that his priorities at the talks will be to ensure that carbon emissions by developed nations are reduced and to secure a fair yearly compensation amount for Africa.
Meanwhile, South African President Jacob Zuma reportedly participated in a video conference, convened by the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, yesterday. He said that a strong financing package for both mitigation and adaptation, primarily based on public sector contributions, is a key element for a strong outcome at the Copenhagen climate talks.

Global carbon dioxide ( <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> CO₂ ) emissions are expected to fall an estimated 2,8% this year because of the financial crisis, according to the Global Carbon Project report.
The report says that CO₂ emissions rose 2% in 2008, more slowly than from 2000 to 2007, when they increased 3,5% a year. The report says, however, that that the 2,8% dip could be very short-lived, given the strong link between <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> CO₂ emissions and economic activity.
Global Carbon Project executive director Pep Canadell says that developing nations are now responsible for 55% of mankind's total <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Times New Roman"; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> CO₂ emissions, largely driven by consumer demand in rich countries, with China a key driver of rising emissions.

Also making headlines:
Main opposition party, the Mozambique National Resistance, rejects the election victory of President Armando Guebuza and demands fresh polls.
The United Nations says that a new food price crisis is only a matter of time as speculation and biofuels, considered the causes of the 2008 food price hike, remain unchecked.
Experts say that South Africa's renewable energy feed-in tariff is not sufficient to stimulate the country's renewable energy sector.
And, speaking at the United Nations World Food Summit, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe says that the West wants the country's farmers to fail.
That's a roundup of news making headlines today.