Image created by AI
In an ongoing effort to address climate change at an international level, South Africa's Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, attended a critical ministerial meeting in Wuhan, China. This assembly brought together representatives from Brazil, South Africa, India, and China, collectively known as the BASIC countries, to tackle pressing issues ahead of the pivotal 8th Session of the Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) and the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP29).
The bi-annual BASIC meeting is a strategic congregation aimed at discussing facets of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. Ministers are set to deliberate on various imperative topics, including the fine-tuning of regulations surrounding carbon markets, and establishing adaptation indicators. Important discussions on the Just Transition Pathways Work Programme, the Mitigation Work Programme, and the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) on climate financing form the crux of these meetings.
One of Dr George's focal points has been emphasising the necessity of a balanced agenda—one that places due importance on dilemmas significant to developing countries. He has highlighted the importance of holding developed nations accountable, urging them to fulfill their promised climate commitments. George recognizes the BASIC group's central influence in amalgamating developing nations and spearheading leadership within climate discussions, conveying South Africa's commitment to this collaborative effort.
MoCA, scheduled for July 22-23, 2024, represents a concerted effort initiated by individual States, including China, the European Union (EU), and Canada, to support the UNFCCC negotiations. Its aim is to uncover common ground among diverging opinions, thus facilitating progress ahead of COP. China will host this convergence of ministers and senior climate diplomats, with objectives to raise the discourse on climate action to a political echelon.
Meetings like MoCA are deemed essential by Dr George, who notes that climate negotiations frequently reach an impasse at technical levels due to global political dynamics. South Africa's long history of constructive participation in the UNFCCC process, marked by significant influence in forging consensus outcomes, positions them as a reputable voice in the collective movement towards global sustainability.
The upcoming MoCA session provides a platform for candid political dialogue regarding the intricacies involved in actualizing COP 28 outcomes, the role and functionality of carbon markets, and the establishment of a new climate finance objective beyond the initial $100 billion annual target, to be finalized at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.