S Africa urges global solution of climate change

DURBAN, South Africa- A South African delegate to the Durban climate conference Tuesday urged the global community to come up with a joint solution to deal with climate change.

Meanwhile, Canada, Japan and Russia are reportedly considering pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol.

South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa called for global action to deal with the impacts. She said action to address the causes and impacts of climate change by "a single country or small group of countries will not be successful."

"This is a global problem requiring a global solution through the concerted and cooperative efforts of all countries," she said.

Heading the South African delegation to the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),Molewa urged Africa to ensure climate change does not pose threats to the country's development.

"COP 17 must provide the opportunity for both South Africa and the African continent at large to ensure that climate change and the associated changes in the climate patterns do not threaten development," Molewa told a joint press briefing.

She said for Africa, the success of the Durban climate change talks is vital since it is projected that by 2080, about 70 million people and up to 30 percent of Africa's coastal infrastructure could "face the risk of coast flooding because of sea level rise."

Africa has contributed the least to the build-up of greenhouse gases globally, but will be in the frontline of the adverse effects of climate change. Combined with the severe development challenges the continent already faces, this makes Africans particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresees yields from rain-fed agriculture being reduced by 50 percent as early as 2020.

"Africa is more vulnerable because of poverty, which limits the ability of most African nations to cope with the impact of climate change," South African President Jacob Zuma told the opening session of COP 17/CMP 7 on Monday.

Molewa told the media recently that the challenge for Africa is to decouple economic and social development from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation to an extent which has no precedent in the developed world.

Africa needs to embark on a path of sustainable development with new, clean, appropriate technologies and to build climate-resilient communities so as to avoid the environmental mistakes of the developed world.

Earlier in the day, Canadian media reported that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet had already decided to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, and had planned to formally announce the decision after the Durban conference.

A member of the so-called Umbrella Group, Canada stated earlier this year that it won't accept the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol after its first commitment period expires at the end of 2012.

The Umbrella Group, which also includes Japan, Australia and Russia, acts as a negotiating bloc in climate change talks that rejects new commitments.

Besides Canada, Japan and Russia have said they will not renew their pledges, while the European Union (EU), which is long-term advocate of the treaty, said its support is conditional.

The EU, the United States and several other industrialized nations have also demanded that developing nations commit to legally binding targets to reduce emissions under any agreement reached this year.

Also on Tuesday, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) criticized developed countries for their stance at the climate talks.

Business Day newspaper in South Africa reported that UNEP said in a newsletter distributed at the talks that the developed countries are "stuck on weaker, conditional pledges."

UNEP also said that the greenhouse gas emissions targets which developed countries have set themselves are "riddled with loopholes."

The UN enviromental body said the "rather large elephant in the room" at the COP 17 is the ever-widening gap between the action needed to stem global warming and what is on the table this year.

Scientists at the talks agree that average global warming should be kept below 2 degree Celsius in order to avoid damaging climate change.

UNEP said it is not too late, and if "strong action" is taken, this target could be reached, adding that the developed countries need to "raise their game dramatically."

This would require a focus on energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy, a halt to deforestation, improved waste management and better agricultural services. It would also require action on emissions in the shipping and aviation industries.