Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on G77+China member nations to unite in solidarity, provide mutual support, and present a unified voice during COP 28.
Ramaphosa said this on Sunday, as he addressed the first-ever G77+China Summit on Climate Change, which took place concurrently with the Conference of Parties (COP28) 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,” the president said.
Addressing the G77 and China Leaders’ Summit #COP28 https://t.co/8RS3xErlSF
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) December 2, 2023
He called for collaboration among countries with critical mineral resources for equitable energy transitions.
“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.
Ramaphosa also advocated against unilateral measures, such as carbon border taxes, and called for reframing the climate action narrative to recognise developing economies’ contributions and rights.
“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.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
