Welcome to COP17/CMP7

Ms Maite Nkoana Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation as the incoming President of COP17/CMP7

On behalf of the South African government, it is my great privilege to welcome delegates and participants to South Africa and the city of Durban for the COP17/CMP7.  I am confident that working together we will be able to deliver a fair, credible, and balanced outcome in Durban, which is the best interest of all Parties.

My role as incoming President is to lead the world in forging a common consensus in terms of reversing the adverse effects of climate change. By hosting COP17/CMP7, South Africa hopes to uphold rules-based multilateralism as one of our fundamental interests which we aspire to globally.  Accordingly, South Africa will endeavor to uphold the consensus nature of decision-making that has characterized the UNFCCC and its Conference/s of the Parties, since 1995.

In this regard, South Africa, in cooperation with the Parties to the UNFCCC, will seek to facilitate an outcome which is fair, transparent, inclusive and upholds the Convention principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities.

The negotiations in Durban will be a Party-driven process with South Africa playing an enabling role for Parties to find agreement on the salient issues of climate change.  The UNFCCC is governed by its own processes and Rules of Procedure, which is important to observe since this strengthens multilateralism and the legitimacy of the whole process.

As the Parties prepare to meet in Durban, there is an urgent need for all Parties to approach the Durban negotiations with an element of maturity as the outcomes of the Cancun negotiations, although laudable, unfortunately did not address all the issues.

I must, however, state that I was heartened by the attitude of the Parties and various climate change groupings in Panama.  Parties have indicated in unequivocal terms their overarching interest of making Durban a success.

The success of Durban will be measured in terms of the following:

• One: There is consensus on the position that the Cancun Agreements must be operationalised, including the establishment of the key mechanisms and institutional arrangements agreed to in Cancun. Here the Green Climate Fund represents a center piece of a broader set of outcomes for Durban. Developing countries demand a prompt start for the Fund through its early and initial capitalization.
• Two: For Durban to be successful we have to do more than making the Cancun Agreements operational. We have no option but to deal with the outstanding political issues remaining from the Bali Roadmap. This means finding a resolution to the issue of the 2nd commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and agreeing on the legal nature of a future climate change system.
• Third: Adaptation is an essential element of the outcome in Durban as it is a key priority for many developing countries, particularly small island developing states, least developed countries and Africa. The current fragmented approach to adaptation must be addressed in a more coherent manner and give equal priority to adaptation and mitigation.

I wish you a very successful COP17/CMP7, and also hope that you will come out of this event re-energised and fully charged to take up the challenges of ensuring that, through our hosting of COP17/CMP7, we will be truthful to our commitment to “Working Together: Saving Tomorrow Today”.