Pretoria - Labour representatives have been urged to work in partnership with government ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) on climate change in Durban later this year.
Addressing Nedlac as part of her consultations with various sectors ahead of COP 17, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane called upon the representatives to engage their counterparts, particularly in the developed world, to facilitate a consensus and to put pressure on their governments to honour their responsibilities on issues where there were blockages in the global negotiations.
The minister also hoped that labour would support the government's approach to find a just transition to climate change-related issues, which she explained would reconcile the labour union movement's efforts to provide workers with decent jobs and the need to protect the environment.
Nkoana-Mashabane is the incoming president of COP 17. Experts say negotiations on climate change have reached a point where Durban has become a critical point for finding a lasting solution and to minimising the devastating effects on the environment.
This as climate change has become one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world, and nearly decades of UN negotiations on the phenomenon have failed to find an absolute approach to curbing the release of greenhouse gases.
South Africa hopes to follow on the relative progress made at last year's negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. The conference in Durban also takes place at a time when the expiry in 2012 of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which bound nearly 40 countries to specific emission reduction targets.
"The conference in Durban presents us with an opportunity to shape the future global response to climate change," said the minister.
Nkoana-Mashabane drew attention to adaptation to climate change, saying it was the most important issue, especially within the African countries and developing countries.
She said especially African countries were the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, however, adaptation was not given the attention and priority it deserves.
"We are, however, concerned that adaptation is not receiving the priority attention that it deserves," Nkoana-Mashabane said, adding that the global negotiations ad-hoc working group was said to be only considering issues related to the institutional arrangements for the Adaptation Committee with no processes for elaborating implementation of concrete adaptation actions.
According to the minister, adaptation could provide positive opportunities for sectors at risk and might even help to improve workers' education and income.
"The outcome should therefore be what Africa wants within the limitations. It is therefore clear that what Africa wants will be beneficial for labour," she said.
The minister said that concern existed among developing countries that they would be required to curtail their growing industrial activities, because there would be no other choice.
The minister also highlighted the impacts of climate change to the developing world and how growth and advancement were being hampered by countries with a historical responsibility for polluting unchecked; to reach the level of development they have today.
It remains to be seen whether countries will sign up for a second commitment period to cut emissions beyond 2012.
But Nkoana-Mashabane is adamant that Pretoria will spare no effort in ensuring that parties strive for a balanced and credible outcome in Durban. -BuaNews
