President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport in Egypt on Sunday evening. Picture: GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Egypt to participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit.
The two-day summit, which is set to take place on Monday and Tuesday, will kick off the 2022 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as COP27, at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Conference Centre.
According to the Presidency, the COP27 summit provides a platform for global leaders to address broader issues related to climate change, mainly to guide climate change negotiators beyond the mandate and scope of the UNFCCC negotiations.
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Ramaphosa will be supported by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy.
The programme for the participation of heads of state and government (HOSG) is expected to include an official opening ceremony, high-level round tables, delivery of national statements and high-level side events organised by world leaders.
During the summit, the government of Egypt will convene six high-level round tables on just transition; food security; innovative finance and climate development; investing in future of energy; climate change and sustainability of vulnerable communities and water security.
These roundtables will be attended by the HOSG, heads of observer organisations and specially invited guests.
“President Ramaphosa will on 7 November 2022, co-chair the high level roundtable on just transition, which will allow discussions on innovative approaches to addressing climate change in the context of just transition, inspired by the South African Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP),” said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya in a statement.
Ramaphosa on Friday, during the special sitting of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), unveiled government’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP).
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The plan outlines government’s comprehensive priority investment and financing interventions required to achieve decarbonisation commitments and ensuring an equitable and just transition.
South Africa’s UNFCCC negotiating positions on climate change are fully aligned with the African common position, as adopted by the African Union’s Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC) and the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).
Magwenya said the COP27 summit will, therefore, be an ideal platform for discussing how climate actions can be supportive of broader just transitions imperatives.
He said this highlights the need for the COP27 to agree on a Just Transition Financing Framework under the mitigation work programme as a potential model for supporting energy transition in middle income countries.
“The high-level segment for heads of state and government during the summit signifies the importance for world leaders to implement and transform key climate-related decisions into concrete actions and credible plans, continue raising ambition, building up from previous Conference of the Parties, including the Glasgow COP 26 outcomes.
“The segment also keeps the high level commitment on climate change issues, with an aim to fight back climate emergency and promoting coordinated action to tackle climate change.”
Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe
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