South Africa’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dr Dion George, and his counterpart from Norway, Minister of Climate and Environment, Mr. Tore Onshuus Sandvik, have been appointed to steer informal consultations on mitigation before and during COP29.
This appointment comes as Minister George prepares to participate in this year’s Pre-COP event taking place over two days from tomorrow 10 October 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Pre-COP29 brings together ministers to discuss the key political aspects of the negotiations, find solutions to outstanding issues, and set the tone for the upcoming COP29.
Accepting the assignment from the COP29 President-designate and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources in the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mukhtar Babayev, Minister George commented: “The designation of South Africa as a ministerial co-facilitator recognises the country’s long-standing leadership role at the international multi-lateral climate negotiations in ensuring the voices of developing countries are well reflected in the multilateral deliberations, and our national level leadership to implement Just Transitions.”
In their consultations, Ministers George and Sandvik will be engaging with Parties and all negotiating groups to conduct informal consultations on concrete issues related to the content on mitigation and linkages to the process at large. It is anticipated that the Ministerial Pair’s consultations will foster a comprehensive understanding among Ministers and their delegations regarding the priorities, perspectives, and areas in need of political guidance in the lead up to and during COP29.
“This is the challenge of our time, and I am honoured to continue South Africa’s leadership,” said Minister George.
Minister Babayev will open Pre-COP proceedings tomorrow, 10 October 2024, alongside COP28 President and United Arab Emirates Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr Sultan A. Al Jaber, amongst others. The opening will be followed by a Plenary discussion on the Road to COP29 and various Climate Change Labs. The second day of Pre-COP will consist of Plenary discussions on ‘Unlocking the potential of Article 6’ and ‘Taking forward the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (GST), before proceedings are concluded.
G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers Meeting
Last week, Minister George said in a statement at the closing session of G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that “the G20 needs to show leadership in addressing the climate crisis”.
“The existential crisis of Climate Change is posing significant threats not only to human health and well-being, but is also exacerbating biodiversity loss, land degradation and other environmental complexities,” he said.
“As such, key areas of collaboration are proposed related to mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and importantly climate finance, building on the discussions and outcomes of previous presidencies. As a primary outcome South Africa would like to explore ways that the G20 can leverage opportunities to increase the scale and flows of climate finance critical for both mitigation and adaptation efforts, whilst ensuring that the required investments reach the most vulnerable of society. In this regard, it would be important to continue the fruitful discussions with the finance colleagues to enable the development of an effective, outcomes based financial model.”
Minister George also took the opportunity to announce that a provisional schedule of G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability meetings has been developed. The first of three Working Group meetings and a Ministerial meeting will be held virtually sometime in March 2025. The second meeting will be held in-person, provisionally scheduled to take place at the Kruger National Park in July 2025. The third will comprise an in-person senior officials meeting to be held back-to-back with a Ministerial meeting in Cape Town envisaged to take place in October 2025.
