President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged member countries of the G77+China to "stand together in solidarity, to support each other and to speak with one voice at COP 28".
The President was speaking at the inaugural G77+China Summit on Climate Change held on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP28) held in Dubai.
"Every region and country represented in this group is already experiencing the impact of climate change and its associated loss and damage. This means that we need to stand together in solidarity, to support each other and to speak with one voice at COP 28. We need to contribute our best efforts and to act with urgency.
"Transformative climate action is taking place alongside our efforts to eradicate poverty and inequality. We should therefore coordinate our positions on the transformation of the global financial architecture and reform of the multilateral development banks so that they can support sustainable development," President Ramaphosa said.
He added that countries who are endowed with mineral resources that are critical for energy transitions need to work together to "ensure that the new economy is fairer, more equitable and offers equal opportunity for all".
"We should forge a united platform against unilateral coercive and trade distorting measures under the guise of climate action. These include carbon border taxes that have the effect of reversing climate finance flows to the Global North.
"We need to reframe the climate action narrative to better address the realities of developing economy countries, to give appropriate recognition to their rights and to acknowledge their contributions to the global fight against this existential threat," he said.
The President reiterated South Africa's position that developed countries must support the energy transitions of developing countries.
"Since developing economy countries are the least responsible for climate change but the most affected, it is critical that the enabling means of implementation support is provided by countries with developed economies.
"The G77 and China, representing the overwhelming majority of the world's population who live in developing economies, has the opportunity to infuse this vision into the mandate and scope of the new work programme on Just Transition Pathways," he said.
