Manuel to co-chair committee on climate change

By Francis Hweshe

Cape Town - National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel has been elected as one of the three co-chairman of the Transitional Committee for the design of the Green Climate Change Fund.

He joined two other chairs, Mexican Minister of Finance and Public Credit Ernesto Cordero Arroyo and Kjetil Lund of Norway's Ministry of Finance.

Manuel, who made the announcement to the media earlier today, said his appointment happened in Mexico on Thursday night in his absence.

He said that the Transitional Committee comprised 40 United Nations representatives and reported to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The committee had three tasks which were to design the "governance arrangements of a Green Climate Fund, mobilizing resources for this fund and setting out the modalities of spending these resources".

The minister said that the committee would have to finish its obligations before the November COP 17 Climate Change meeting set for Durban.

The committee was likely to have at least four meetings leading to the COP 17 meeting.

He said that Green Climate Fund, which would be financed through carbon pricing, would be used to mitigate deforestation and open up new agricultural land in Africa among other things.

The minister said that climate change issues were not for scientists alone, and more debate was needed around the matter in South Africa. - BuaNews

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 29 Apr 2011
Title: Manuel to co-chair committee on climate change

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Business urged to play climate leadership role

By Chris Bathembu

Johannesburg - The South African government wants to use the upcoming United Nations climate change summit, scheduled to take place in Durban later this year, to convince the country's business sector to take a leading role in the global efforts to slow climate change.

Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on Friday met with Business Unity South Africa (Busa) for a two-hour discussion on how the sector can assist government pass policies that promote green growth.

The meeting was called to assess business feelings around government's climate policy and how the sector can assist in making the Durban talks a success for Africa and other developing nations.

"We had a very fruitful discussion which touched on a whole range of issues pertaining to how business can make COP 17 a success. Based on what we have discussed, we are confident that we will be in a position to see how business can step up to the plate and help shape our policy direction," Molewa said at the conclusion of the meeting.

South Africa has committed to lower its carbon emission to 34 percent by 2020 but will need financial support from developed countries to do so. The country recently embarked on several solar and wind power programmes in a bid to fast track its green economy initiatives.

Molewa said while government would play its part in policy formulation, the role of business in ongoing efforts to mitigate global warming can never be underestimated.

"We have worked well with business on quite a number of projects and what we agreed on here is that we don't want to see COP 17 as another talk shop to discuss previous decisions taken in Mexico and Copenhagen...we have to move forward and beyond what was said there."

The UN-led negotiations have in the past been hampered by arguments about rich nations' targets to cut emissions by 2020, financing for poorer nations to adapt to climate change and to curb their own greenhouse gas emissions and the best way to deliver and manage those funds. Poor nations have also been refusing to fork out money for mitigation efforts, blaming developed nations for the current climate problems faced by the world.

But Molewa said she was confident that the talks in South Africa would not be another mudslinging exercise between superpowers such as the United States and Japan and the developing nations led by China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

Busa Deputy CEO Raymond Parsons insisted that while business supported the targets set by the South African government and the accord reached by world leaders in Copenhagen in 2009, it was imperative that climate policy direction was in line with the economic growth path announced by Pretoria recently.

"For us what is important is how we interpret those climate goals in other words how do align the climate policy with the new growth path," he said. - BuaNews

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 15 Apr 2011
Title: Business urged to play climate leadership role
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Stop!!! Whaling in the Faroe Islands - Grindadráp

Records of the drive exist in part since 1584, and continuously from 1709—the longest period of time for statistics existing for any wild animal harvest in the world.

 As humans evolve it is important we evolve in conjunction with the planet and its needs as well as its short comings. We have to harvest resources in a manner it is sustainable to have something left for our children to enjoy. Ancient philosophies had their place and competition to stay ahead of other predators may have sparked certain traditions, but surely we are evolved enough to realize when we have accomplished superiority over other species.

Knowledge is power and slaughtering on this magnitude needs loads of specie knowledge to predict migration routes and feeding habits of the specie being hunted. With our developed brains this type of hunting is no more a challenge today as driving down to the market place and buy dinner for four.

Tvøst og spik. Black meat of the pilot whale and blubber (middle), together with dried fish (left) and potatoes.

We all know by now that Whale meat is toxic. Whether it became toxic because of pollution or  have been toxic all along is immaterial. These meats are high in mercury toxins and is not fit for human consumption. The only reason a reasonable thinking mind can find why it ever had culinary value is if one go back in human history and find out why the taste for this mammal originated.

Clearly large pods of whales and dolphins posed a threat to small fishing communities in the sense of source competition. These mammals competed with fish stocks available to hard working fisherman. In those days it was relevant to eliminate the opposition, but that relevance has subsided as humans developed. Now we control the earth and all its species it is relevant that we prevent specie extinction.

Specie extinction is detrimental for human survival since Nature needs to be in perfect harmony to sustain human life on earth. It is clear that this type of hunting should not have diminished whale and dolphin populations around the world, but clearly increased pressure from modern hunting techniques by countries like Japan has brought these species to critical mass levels.

It is now time to take action and we are the last generation that can do something to stop the degradation of the planet. Please join this Facebook page so we can form an action group that can deal with this matters on grass root level.

Molewa upbeat about SA's climate talks

Johannesburg - This year's climate change conference in South Africa should lead to a successful international agreement that will allow for a united global response against global warming, Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said on Friday.

"Our journey to Durban must facilitate a route that provides platforms for the voice of humanity to be heard in COP 17 where our negotiating mandate must strive for the world we want to live in," she said.

Molewa addressed a stakeholder summit, hosted by her department, as part of a build up to the Climate Change conference to be held in Durban later this year. The event is billed to be one of the biggest global meetings on climate change and is expected to attract delegates from 185 countries.

The minister told delegates on Friday that for the Durban climate talks to succeed, government and civil society needed to coordinate their activities and work as "team South Africa". Global warming is said to be the greatest challenge presently facing humankind, with scientist warning that rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns were expected to lead to severe devastation if something was not done.

South Africa had said in the past that it will take "nationally appropriate" mitigation action on climate change and the extent to which this would be done depended on the provision of financial resources, the transfer of technology and support by developed countries.

In 2008, Cabinet agreed on a response development programme, which led to the national climate change response policy. According to the policy, experts and authorities expect South Africa's carbon emissions to pick up at a rate of about 34 and 42 percent by 2020 and 2025 respectively, and these were expected to begin to decline in absolute terms by 2036.

Molewa said formal negotiations leading to the conference will begin in June when South Africa and its negotiating partners, that include the Group of 77 developing countries, were expected to outline their plans.

"A second aspect of our preparations is how South Africa can showcase some concrete actions highlighting successes and challenges it faced in responding to climate change," she added.

South Africa will also host a climate response expo at a venue close to the summit in December in a bid to increase awareness and to showcase sectoral climate actions and innovations.

Different government departments will also be expected to strategies on how they were helping South Africa meets its adaptation and mitigation obligations. - BuaNews 

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 01 Apr 2011
Title: Molewa upbeat about SA's climate talks
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2011 Climate Change Leadership Award

NEWSFLASH

The Nedbank Group has reaffirmed its status as a leading South African green bank by jointly winning the Financial Services category for twenty years of weaving sustainability into the fabric of the organisation and for their outstanding response to climate change at the 2011 Climate Change Leadership Awards in Johannesburg on March 29. The awards are sponsored by Talk Radio 702, Pick 'n Pay, the SA Post Office, LeadSA, Kulula, Avis, Food and Trees for Africa, and The Carbon Protocol of South Africa.

The Climate Change Leadership Awards (CCLA) are the first awards in South Africa to recognize, reward, motivate and celebrate South African businesses, communities, individuals, youth and schools that are taking the lead through implementing a range of activities to combat global warming. They also contribute significantly to inspiring and promoting awareness and action towards a low carbon economy, and thus a healthier society and a more sustainable planet.

"It is a great honour for us to receive this award as it recognises our ongoing commitment to sustainability and environmental awareness, education and responsibility," said Marco Lotz, Nedbank’s Sustainability Carbon Specialist.
Nedbank became South Africa and Africa's first carbon neutral financial organisation in 2009 and is involved in a wide range of initiatives aimed at reducing the impact of climate change.