Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sue van der Merwe yesterday reiterated government's call for industrialised countries to reduce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and said that current international trading patterns and escalating climate change were serving to exacerbate global inequalities.

“Because the contributors to climate change and thus the unsustainable patterns of development tend to be the developed and wealthy states, it is the co-operation and commitment of these states that is required to realise the development aspirations of the poorer countries,” she said.

Speaking at the final session of a national conference on climate change, Van der Merwe said that South Africa would continue to work through structures such as the India Brazil South Africa Dialogue Forum (Ibsa), the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and the United Nations, to lobby for change in the global climate regime.

“Climate change is an urgent global problem and must be addressed through multilateral negotiations,” she said.

“Even as we as Africans concern ourselves with Africa's development, we need to recognise that climate change undoubtedly impacts on sustainable development and the realisation of the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development,” she said.

Most developed nations have agreed, under the Kyoto Protocol, to cut their emissions of heat-trapping gases by 5,2% from 1990 levels by 2008 to 2012 and a UN conference in Montreal next month will begin discussions on the post-2012 steps.

The talks are expected to reinforce the successful implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and all 19 decisions and launching a process to set the direction for a more effective and inclusive global regime after 2012 when the first commitment period under Kyoto runs out.

At the conference in Montreal, South Africa will push for issues such as a more even balance between mitigation and adaptation approaches, and technology-transfer to developing countries to be moved higher on the agenda, as well as the continuation, streamlining and further development of the clean-development mechanism beyond 2012, Van der Merwe said.

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism lead climate negotiator Alf Wills said earlier at the conference that other areas of concern for developing nations include a lack of implementation of finance mechanisms and capacity building.

Van der Merwe emphasised that South Africa would oppose any weakening of the targets or timeframes of the Kyoto Protocol and would push for more-stringent measures to be implemented after 2012.

“We will also press for significant emitters of greenhouse gases such as the US and Australia, to ratify the treaty.”

It will be important that any further commitments by developing countries are consistent with key development objectives.

Van der Merwe said that, although climate change is one of the biggest threats to sustainable development, measures to mitigate it should not take place at the expense of poor and developing nations.

She identified a need for intensified multilateral talks between the big greenhouse-gas emitters and the countries which are most affected by climate change - generally the developing world.

Finally, South Africa would press climate change as a key agenda when it assumes the chair of the G77 plus China in 2006 and would also pursue the issue at the next meeting of Ibsa, Van der Merwe said.