Cape Town — Environment Minister Buyelwa Sonjica is "cautiously optimistic" about a deal on climate change being hammered out at the forthcoming Copenhagen conference. But no deal would be better than a weak deal, she said, and SA as a developing nation would not commit itself to specific emission reduction targets.
She welcomed 500m in assistance from the global Clean Technology Fund for clean energy, saying it would be used for energy efficiency, including solar water heaters and wind power.
The money could also be used to leverage another 1bn for low carbon initiatives. Sonjica's cautious optimism about Copenhagen was an acknowledgement of the deep differences between developed and developing countries. These are related to the view that developed countries should lead emission reductions and support developing countries' mitigation and adaptation financially, technologically and by helping to build capacity.
The Copenhagen conference aims to reach agreement on strengthening the international climate change regime beyond 2012.
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Sonjica told reporters at Parliament that a fair outcome of the talks would be one that respected the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and took national and regional development priorities into account.
She said it was worrying that the biggest emitters in the developed world were not making significant commitments, with the result that the African bloc walked out of the Barcelona talks this week.
SA, like other developing countries, needed a global reduction in green house emissions to limit the undermining effect of climate change on its development.
SA and fellow African nations are insisting that developed nations discuss concrete targets for cutting emissions during the climate change negotiations in Barcelona.
Africa is the continent most vulnerable to climate change, and has the most to lose if there is no successful outcome to the talks.
"In real life, emissions are increasing rather than decreasing," said Cedric Lombardo, a member of the Ivory Coast's negotiating team.
Lombardo, was speaking to journalists in Johannesburg yesterday from Barcelona via teleconference.
"We must know what will be the accurate number of gas in the atmosphere. If we don't have a concrete number, we don't know what danger we are facing," he said.
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