Opening statement by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism at the major economies meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, Washington DC

On behalf of South Africa, I would like to thank you for creating this opportunity to deliberate on our common challenges. Energy and climate security present them as the horns of the greatest dilemma humanity may yet have faced. The fact that these challenges are twins and inextricably linked is now clearer than ever, through the efforts of science.

We must conclude international negotiations by 2009 on the climate regime after 2012. A road map for multilateral negotiations to achieve this must be agreed in Bali. 2008 will be an important milestone in the run-up to an agreement, by 2009, that builds on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. At COP14 in Posnan we must take stock of and receive reports from the different contributions to the multilateral process, including this one. This meeting today is therefore very timely. Dedicated efforts will be required over the next year to ensure that we prepare a meaningful input to feed back into the UNFCCC negotiations.

Based on the established principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, we understand that we must all do more and act with a greater sense of urgency. In working towards a fair, effective, flexible and inclusive climate regime beyond 2012, the message from a developing country perspective is clear: We take our responsibilities seriously. We are already making a meaningful contribution within our respective capabilities. We are willing to do more. But the trigger must come from the north.

Besides broadening participation to include the world's largest historical emitter, the United States (US), the creation of a more empowering technology and financing framework will be a precondition. We therefore welcome this initiative by the United States as a first step towards assuming their global leadership role and full responsibility in the multilateral solution that reflects equity across nations and generations.

From the United Nations Secretary-General's meeting on 24 September there is an emerging consensus that a road map for negotiating the future regime should be launched in Bali and be concluded by 2009. Therefore, we look forward to urgently advancing and concluding this interaction between us as one important contribution to the United Nations negotiations by the end of 2008. The central challenge is to build bridges to enable the transition from the fragmented status quo to a coherent regime where all Annex I parties take on absolute and binding emission reduction targets. Given the challenges that face us, I would suggest that all of us in this meeting carefully consider the scope and substance of our agenda and what we can meaningfully contribute to the UNFCCC negotiations.

We should also remind ourselves that the majority of countries that will be hardest hit by climate change are not at this table today. We cannot design a climate change regime that works only for the 15 or 20 major economies. Ultimately, multilateralism must prevail. An ambitious and equitable framework must work for all parties. It must balance our stabilisation and sustainable development objectives and our mitigation and adaptation responses. It must deal with the unintended consequences of these responses. And it must be underpinned by an empowering technology and financing framework that allows developing countries to reach economic and human development goals quicker and cleaner than developed countries did. These are the key building blocks.

The balance between sustainable development and stabilisation, as articulated in Article two of the United National Framework Convention, will have to underpin the strengthening of the climate regime. The development of any long term global emission reduction goal that serves as yardstick to guide our overall climate efforts must strike this fundamental balance. It must be based on sound science and broad consensus, and it must inform ambitious and binding mid-term targets for all developed countries.

In April the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reminded us that existing technology and policies, together with new developments in the pipeline, can address the climate problem at a cost that is relatively affordable. The challenge is to accelerate technology development, commercialisation and wider deployment and to up-scale existing investment and financing by orders of magnitude.

Though long term technology research and development will remain an important part of our work, the urgency of the challenge requires of us to use all available tools to our best advantage and for the common good. Equity requires of all countries to shoulder their responsibility towards future generations, in balance with taking historical responsibility for the problem. South Africa, like other developing countries, needs sustainable development in order to address poverty and unemployment. Mindful that thirteen million South Africans do not yet have access to modern energy resources, ensuring universal access to energy remains a critical priority.

Given that the energy sector is the single largest source of emissions in South Africa, mitigation and technological interventions are aimed at energy efficiency, diversifying energy sources away from coal, promoting energy security and also the research and development of new technologies that will lead to a cleaner, more sustainable, low carbon energy future.

From our perspective, a number of critical issues must be resolved at a multilateral level to enable us to address climate change whilst meeting our energy and sustainable development objectives. This includes innovative ways to address the costs of deploying more expensive advanced and cleaner technologies, which in turn is closely related to the vexing issue of intellectual property protection; as well as multilateral funding to support higher levels of research, development and deployment. In considering these issues, we need to focus on a suite of technologies, funding mechanisms, investment structures and policy tools.

The further development of carbon markets holds the potential to provide significant incentives for the diffusion of technologies. An urgent priority is to secure the global carbon market by sending a clear market signal about the climate regime after 2012. Ambitious targets for all developed countries are critical to create the demand required to fuel the carbon market and to create meaningful financial flows to stimulate investment in low carbon economic growth in developing countries. But carbon funding alone will not be enough, and we will also need to mobilise financing and investment beyond carbon markets.

In addition to participation in Kyoto carbon markets, South Africa supports a strategic approach of sustainable development policies and measures, or so-called Sustainable Development Policies and Measures (SDPAMs) for developing countries. The SD-PAMs approach makes it possible for developing countries to pledge measurable, reportable and verifiable mitigation actions, supported by technology and enabled by finance, and consistent with their sustainable development objectives. These would be measurable mitigation actions, but of a different kind than quantified targets for developed countries.

Chair, we need a step-change in the pace of negotiations. Addressing only emissions intensity or long term Research and Development (R&D) will not be sufficient. Global emissions will need to peak and decline. By 2009 we will need a common understanding that all developed countries need to be playing on the same field, with quantitative mitigation targets, and that major developing countries need to be playing on a matching field, one which involves recognition and positive incentives for their measurable action.

Chair, in conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the outcomes of our interaction should contribute to the wider agenda and broader engagement under the UNFCCC. And we must ask how we can contribute to building the bridge from where we are today, to a strengthened regime based on the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. We are looking to the United States to play a global leadership role. No nation has the inherent right to hold to ransom the future of all nations. We need a clear and credible signal from the north and for our part we stand ready to take on our fair share of responsibility.

Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
27 September 2007