http://www.thenewage.co.za/49994-1007-53-Build_on_COP17_momentum_NkoaneMashabane

 

It is essential to build on the strong momentum of the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, the department of international relations said on Saturday.

 

"The Durban conference resulted in one of the most encompassing and furthest reaching outcomes in the history of the climate change negotiations," International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a statement.

"It is essential that the momentum is maintained, and I see a strong willingness amongst governments to provide the necessary strong, high-level political leadership."

Nkoane-Mashabane was attending a two day informal meeting in Bonn, Germany along with ministers and high level officials from 32 other countries.

The meeting focused on what needed to be done over the next four years to ensure key decisions that emerged from the Durban conference were effectively implemented.

At COP 17 last year, governments noted the significant gap between countries' current pledges to curb emissions and what is required to limit the increase of global average temperatures to at the most two degrees Celsius.

Because of this, they agreed to undertake a work plan to close the gap between what has already been pledged and what was required to meet this goal.

"All governments share the sense that equity needs to be a central component of the future climate change regime," Nkoana-Mashabane said.