Washington DC — Following suit at the most recent G8 Summit in Germany, the United States has again not fully embraced the principles and leadership required for a global solution to climate change.

This sentiment was expressed by Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus Van Schalkwyk following the conclusion of the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Summit and Climate Change held in Washington DC, Friday.

The minister said that whilst South Africa welcomed the dialogue, initiated by the U.S., surrounding the issue of climate change, that "the USA needs to go back to the drawing board."

He said, "We participated in the dialogue with an open mind, and with great expectations about a new resolve by the U.S. to seriously contribute to the multilateral solution under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol.

"However, in reflecting on the U.S. contribution to the meeting, as well as the outcomes of two days of frank deliberations, we believe that the U.S. has not fully embraced the principles of and their leadership in a multilateral and global solution to the global challenge of climate change.

07320"Though we welcome some of the encouraging political signals from the U.S. and their willingness to engage on a global response, our insistence remains that this response must include internationally agreed and binding emissions reduction targets.

"A voluntary approach focusing only on aspirational goals and not binding ones, national actions and long term research and development in key sectors will not be sufficient to avoid climate disaster," said Mr van Schalkwyk.

He said South Africa's message to the U.S. is this: "What they placed on the table at this meeting is a first step, but is simply not enough. We think that the U.S. needs to go back to the drawing board to formulate credible and ambitious proposals that we can take back to the multilateral negotiations under the UNFCCC and it Kyoto Protocol.

"We are always ready to contribute to these further developed proposals in a cooperative and constructive manner, but we reiterate that the outcomes of our interaction in this dialogue should contribute to the wider agenda, which includes the critical priority of adapting to climate change, as well as broader engagement under the UNFCCC."

The minister highlighted that South Africa looks forward to continuing the engagement between major economies under this dialogue as it holds the potential to enrich the multilateral process.

Mr van Schalkwyk highlighted that in South Africa's future participation in this dialogue, that government will continue to focus both on the creation of a more empowering technology and financing framework, as well as ways to build a more inclusive and equitable climate regime.

"We will not compromise on our demand that the U.S., as the world's largest historical emitter, should contribute their fair share. For our part, we stand ready to take on our fair share of responsibility," he said.