House Chair, the Deputy Minister, Ms Rejoyce Mabudafhasi, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, Adv Johnny de Lange, Members of Parliament, members of the portfolio committee, MECs who are present, distinguished guests, our various chairpersons of and executives from public entities, and ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you. I address this august gathering a week after we celebrated Freedom Day, a day that marks a significant and historic paradigm shift in the history of our country. On that day 18 years ago South Africans not only elected a new democratic government, but also pinned their hopes on an ANC-led government, and we should never fail them. We should never fail the legacy of Tata Mandela.
When the gates of Victor Verster Prison were flung open, releasing Tata Mandela, he took those memorable first steps that symbolised the many steps that we as a people were to take in our quest to take our country into a new era of sustainable development. His exemplary nature and stature taught us to be selfless and dedicated in the pursuit of the betterment of the lives of our people and the restoration of their dignity after many decades of humiliating and degrading apartheid laws. His release from incarceration further symbolised the emergence of a paradigm in which we as a nation recognised that development should benefit us today, but at the same time we should not be depriving future generations of access to resources and natural resources.
This year is a very special year indeed because it also marks the 16th anniversary of our country's Constitution, which gives full expression to our democratic ideals, as well as substance and relevance to the work of the environmental sector. Since 1994, we have embarked on a journey towards the fulfilment of the rights enshrined in our Constitution, as well as towards an environment that is conducive to health and wellbeing, and is protected, for the benefit of present and future generations. These are some of the pillars on which the sustainable development programmes of our department and sectors rest, the guiding principles of our national and international engagements.
As you know, last year South Africa hosted and participated in the 17th session of COP 17 and COP/MOP 7 in Durban. The final outcome was historic and precedent-setting. This agreement significantly advances the global effort needed now to address the global challenge of climate change. It charts a new long-term path for the development of a fair, ambitious and legally binding multilateral and rules-based global climate change system in the future, one that can balance climate and development imperatives. It also ensures the fair participation of all countries, both developed and developing, in the increasing global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions now and in the future as well.
The success of COP 17 was largely due to the response of Climate Change Team SA - Team A - to our clarion call for a partnership akin to the one that was established during the 2010 Soccer World Cup Tournament. We used COP 17 to host a very successful, cutting-edge expo that demonstrated South Africa's approach and real practical action in responding to climate change. It also acted as a forum for engagement and partnership building. I am proud to announce that from next year the environmental sustainability Climate Change Response Expo will be hosted as an annual event.
Let me take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the various communities out there who participated, and with whom we worked, both in preparation for the engagement and during COP 17 and all the related activities.
Bagaetsho, re a leboga. Ra re, "mabogo dinku a a thebana." [Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you. We believe, "people should help each other."] Working together, we can do more.
We went to the COP 17 negotiations shortly after the Cabinet's approval of our National Climate Change Response Policy, which presents our country's vision and strategic approach for achieving an effective climate change response and a just transition to climate resilience and a low-carbon economy. Our priority for this year is to make significant strides in implementing the policy. We will consult with all stakeholders and co- ordinate a process to define South Africa's desired emission-reduction outcomes, based on an in-depth assessment of mitigation potential in key sectors, as well as an analysis of the mitigation contributions that each sector can make to the national and international global effort.
We will also initiate a process to develop long-term adaptation scenarios and to evaluate how changes in the climate can affect key climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity in South Africa. We will also identify adaptation strategies in order to prevent the undesirable consequences of climate change, and thereby increase South Africa's resilience to climate change.
The ocean plays a significant role in understanding climate, climate variability and the impact of the ocean on the infrastructure, economy and livelihoods of communities, especially those who live in coastal areas. South Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic, Indian and Southern Oceans, which presents a unique opportunity and responsibility to use our understanding of the ocean, weather and climate processes to achieve operational forecasts in order to ensure the safe use of our waters. This will help to protect human life, the economy and also marine biodiversity.
To address climate change mitigation strategies, the SA Weather Service's Global Atmosphere Watch Station at Cape Point has over the past 32 years formed a crucial component of the global network that maintains long-term records on trace gases and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We are also developing monitoring and evaluating systems to ensure that we are able to track our progress in reducing carbon emissions.
Regarding sustainable development, as concerns grow over the capacity of the earth's resources to sustain the current unsustainable production and consumption patterns, the global efforts to reshape the sustainable development architecture to better respond to this challenge also become increasingly urgent. Faced with the real threat of climate change impacts, sustainable development becomes more pertinent and significant from the South African and the international perspectives. Our strategic objective of ensuring that sustainable development remains central to our planning and execution was further enhanced last year with the approval by Cabinet of the National Strategy on Sustainable Development, which we call the