SA leader appeals over climate change
Source: Agencies |
November 29, 2011, Tuesday
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GLOBAL warming already is causing suffering and conflict in Africa, from drought in Sudan and Somalia to flooding in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said yesterday, urging delegates at an international climate conference to look beyond national interests for solutions.
"For most people in the developing world and Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death," said the South African leader as he opened a two-week conference with participants from 191 countries and the European Union.
The conference is seeking ways to curb rising emissions of climate-changing pollution, which scientists claim have reached record levels of concentration in the atmosphere.
Seasoned nongovernment observers said the outcome of the conference, which ends on December 9, is among the most unpredictable since the annual meetings began following the conclusion in 1992 of a basic treaty on climate change.
"Everything seems to be fluid. Everything is in play," said Tasneem Essop, of WWF International.
The main point in contention is whether industrial countries will extend their commitments to reduce carbon emissions further after current commitments expire next year.
Zuma said Sudan's drought is partly responsible for tribal wars there, and that drought and famine have driven people from their homes in Somalia. Floods along the South African coast have cost people their homes and jobs, he said.
"Change and solutions are always possible. In these talks, state parties will need to look beyond their national interests to find a global solution for a common good and benefit of all humanity," he said.
Christiana Figueres, the top climate official at the United Nations, said future commitments by industrial countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is "the defining issue of this conference," but she said the issue is linked to pledges developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.
The task is daunting, she said, quoting anti-apartheid legend and former President Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it is done."
The pledges by 37 wealthy countries were enshrined in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which expires next year. Canada, Japan and Russia announced last year they would not take on new emission reduction commitments for a second period, and Canadian television reported yesterday that Ottawa would formally withdraw from the protocol next month.
The international aid agency Oxfam released a report yesterday showing that extreme weather events are driving up food prices. In the last 18 months, Russia lost 5.38 million hectares of crops to a heatwave, and drought in the Horn of Africa has killed 60 percent of Ethiopia's cattle and 40 percent of its sheep.
"For most people in the developing world and Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death," said the South African leader as he opened a two-week conference with participants from 191 countries and the European Union.
The conference is seeking ways to curb rising emissions of climate-changing pollution, which scientists claim have reached record levels of concentration in the atmosphere.
Seasoned nongovernment observers said the outcome of the conference, which ends on December 9, is among the most unpredictable since the annual meetings began following the conclusion in 1992 of a basic treaty on climate change.
"Everything seems to be fluid. Everything is in play," said Tasneem Essop, of WWF International.
The main point in contention is whether industrial countries will extend their commitments to reduce carbon emissions further after current commitments expire next year.
Zuma said Sudan's drought is partly responsible for tribal wars there, and that drought and famine have driven people from their homes in Somalia. Floods along the South African coast have cost people their homes and jobs, he said.
"Change and solutions are always possible. In these talks, state parties will need to look beyond their national interests to find a global solution for a common good and benefit of all humanity," he said.
Christiana Figueres, the top climate official at the United Nations, said future commitments by industrial countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is "the defining issue of this conference," but she said the issue is linked to pledges developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.
The task is daunting, she said, quoting anti-apartheid legend and former President Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it is done."
The pledges by 37 wealthy countries were enshrined in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which expires next year. Canada, Japan and Russia announced last year they would not take on new emission reduction commitments for a second period, and Canadian television reported yesterday that Ottawa would formally withdraw from the protocol next month.
The international aid agency Oxfam released a report yesterday showing that extreme weather events are driving up food prices. In the last 18 months, Russia lost 5.38 million hectares of crops to a heatwave, and drought in the Horn of Africa has killed 60 percent of Ethiopia's cattle and 40 percent of its sheep.
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