adminCountries should rise above national interests when negotiating about what needed to be done to deal with climate change, he said.
Speaking during the high level dialogue and round table on global sustainability in a changing climate, Zuma said all countries had qualified to participate in the COP 17 talks and all should emerge as winners.
“According to your programme you will continue with extensive deliberations on possible solutions for what we need to do now and what we agree to do in the future.”
Developing countries feared their economic development could be hampered by countries that had contributed immensely to the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The global emissions of greenhouse gases from the developing countries were growing rapidly, Zuma said.
“The developed world must continue to take the lead. On the other hand, the developing countries must show willingness to take their fair share of responsibilities.”
South Africa believed that without a multilateral rules-based system there would be no guarantee that countries would honour their commitments to reducing emissions.
Zuma said: “Any agreement on a future response should also take into account what science prescribes, as well as the outcome of the 5th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”
Johan Rockstrom, chairman of the 3rd Nobel Laureate symposium on global sustainability, painted a gloomy picture of the effects of climate change.
He said there would be huge chaos if climate change were not addressed and poor countries would be the hardest hit.
Climate change would increase droughts in Africa, which would lead to poverty and the monsoon rains would be disrupted, making people unable to predict the weather. — Sapa.
derick.khumalo