Chairperson, members of the House, Cope welcomes this debate on the report arising from the parties' meeting in Cancun at the end of last year. We are in full agreement with the recommendations in the report that MPs have a critical and active role to play in averting climate change. The major issue today is whether we as legislators can devise policies and legislation which will ensure that as a country we do our bit to keep global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial nations.
As legislators, we should actively support the creation of a green climate fund as floods and drought ravage country after country. A large pool of funds will be necessary to deal with the disasters caused by climate change. There is still no certainty how the R100 billion per year by 2020 will be raised, but this is something that has to be fully settled in Durban.
The new policy that we as a Parliament evolve must give consideration to the international community's setting up a climate-risk insurance facility, so that there is support for any country that experiences the impacts of extreme weather as a result of climate change.
Climate change is no longer an academic question; it is now mainly an economic issue, an issue of such magnitude that it touches the very survival of people, as we can see in Somalia. There are major cost implications for countries as a result of the increasing number of droughts and floods. No country in the world is immune to the natural disasters resulting from climate change. We are all equally vulnerable and challenged.
It was agreed at Cancun that a technology executive committee should be established to oversee the transfer of clean energy technologies to the developing nations. Cope urges this House to invite this committee to come before the relevant committees of Parliament to share its knowledge and help our Parliament refine its policies. We need to secure the transfer of clean energy technologies because nothing else will be sustainable.
We also have an interest in seeing COP 17 succeeding. As with the World Cup, we should be setting the scene to get the whole nation solidly behind us. Regrettably, we have not done enough in this regard and we should therefore address this matter urgently.
The report before us raises the important question of whether developing countries should agree to emission reduction that is legally binding. Cope believes that the government should fully involve Parliament in determining to what extent South Africa will agree to bind itself to the reduction of gas emissions. As the Kyoto Protocol will be collapsing soon, the world may not have an instrument to enforce global compliance with regard to carbon emission. COP 17 therefore comes at a critical juncture.
Now that South Africa has the opportunity to host COP 17 in Durban this year, we have a major opportunity to represent the plight of the developing nations, which are the worst affected. We certainly need to get the whole continent behind us, because many African countries, which are responsible for minimal emissions, will unfortunately be major casualties of global warming. Keeping this in mind, we have a tough task ahead of us to secure a legally binding agreement and to address pressing climate issues on the basis of a binding agreement. If we can speak as a continent, united in our concerns about climate change, we will be able to achieve better results.
While it is unlikely that developed nations will commit to reducing carbon emissions further, it is of the utmost importance that we nevertheless push for a firm deadline regarding a legally binding treaty on emission reductions.
Cope supports the establishment of a South African Globe International chapter in Parliament. Globe International will supply Parliament with crucial information on environmental matters. Furthermore, it will provide Members of Parliament with official non-negotiation status at COP 17 meetings. Thank you. [Time expired.]