Minister Dion George: Opening remarks at Brazil, South Africa, India and China Group (BASIC) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change

Excellencies, 
Allow me to take this opportunity to convey our gratitude to the Government of the People’s Republic of China for organizing this meeting. 

It is an honour for me, as the new Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment under South Africa’s recently formed Government of National Unity, to address this important meeting. I look forward to working with all of you.

The position of the new South African Government remains one of unwavering solidarity with our fellow members of the global South. We regard the BASIC group as a key strategic platform for articulating and advancing the interests of developing countries towards a more sustainable, just and equitable international order. It is therefore highly appropriate that this BASIC meeting is my first international engagement.

Excellencies,
I want to assure you that South Africa remains fully committed to meeting its undertakings under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement and is working on its second Nationally Determined Contribution. We will contribute our fair share and not make false promises that we are unable to keep. Furthermore, South Africa has committed to updating and submitting its first Biennial Transparency Report in time for Baku.

South Africa is focused on implementing ambitious actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including through the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP). The Implementation of this plan includes actions around electricity, electric vehicles and green hydrogen and we are interested in partnering with BASIC and other countries towards its implementation. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with some developed countries is only a small component of our much larger energy transition plan, which in turn is only one sector of the all-of-economy and all-of-society just transition we seek in line with the COP28 UAE Vision.

Our parliament has adopted a Climate Change Bill. Since 2011, when we outlined South Africa’s response to climate change in our National Climate Change Response White Paper, we have been putting in place the components of an integrated response. Now, this Bill will integrate all of these components into a robust legal framework, and mainstream climate action across government.

Excellencies,
As we all know, the provision of the means of implementation to developing countries is the key enabler for climate action and ambition. To this end South Africa is looking forward to meaningful discussion on this in this meeting and at COP29.

I believe all of us have heard feedback from our experts who recently participated in the sessional meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, where progress was slow. Our assessment is that this is aimed at putting pressure on the BASIC countries to assume more obligations than they are expected to under the Convention and its Paris Agreement.

We have also witnessed a skewed ambition narrative that focuses almost exclusively on mitigation, and an attempt to weaken the discussions in the Just Transition Work Programme, as well as on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Finance. For South Africa, progress is required in terms of emission reduction obligations, adaptation commitments and the means of implementation, to ensure that we are on track to achieving the 1.5-degree target, and that support for both adaptation and loss and damage will address all likely outcomes.

Excellencies,
We believe that COP29 should enable enhanced, effective and sustained international cooperation on both adaptation and mitigation (equally treated), to achieve the missing ambition in climate actions to date. Developed countries’ commitment to providing adequate support to developing countries, is key for the Paris Agreement to be truly applicable to all. The global North should ensure no backtracking on support obligations.

I look forward to fruitful discussions at this meeting. The meeting is timely as we prepare for the pre-COP and the COP. It is my hope that our countries can further strengthen our strategic partnership to present a strong and united voice and practical responses to pressing matters that impact on our climate actions. These issues include reform of the global financial architecture, management of critical transition minerals, as well as responding to unfair, unilateral and trade-distorting measures, such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms.

I thank you

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