Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on 14 April 2011 the heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics, held a joint press conference at the third Brics Summit in Sanya, Hainan Island, in the People's Republic of China, where the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, stated in his speech, and I quote:
We shared our expectations for the 17th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which South Africa is hosting at the end of the year.
South Africa wants to ensure a legally binding climate change agreement that will govern the world's response to the increasingly visible effects of climate change.
Chairperson, the whole world will be focusing on the important climate change conference, since South Africa has become a brics member. South Africa is under considerable pressure to oversee the negotiation of a legally binding agreement on how to mitigate climate change, as the Kyoto Protocol commitment period nears its end next year.
The Department of Environmental Affairs has allocated a budget of R223 million for the climate change conference. Climate change is a new programme introduced in the current financial year with the aim of facilitating an effective national mitigation and adaptation response.
The Department of Environmental Affairs has seen the consequences of global warming, melting of glaciers, floods, drought, a rise in the sea level, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, etc. Responding to these challenges, we were happy to release a National Climate Change Policy and White Paper. The policy will further build on our broader understanding of what can be done by all stakeholders. Governments, businesses, labour, civil society and each individual citizen will take action to reduce greenhouse emissions.
The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs submitted its strategic plan for 2011-12 from the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, allocation of R2 846 million in the 2011-12 budget. The department has many challenges to face, with the statement of problems and the critical sector outputs.
The top priority area for the department for the medium term includes the following: support of local government in the areas of air quality management, water management, coastal planning and open space planning; strengthening compliance and enforcement activities; and setting up linkages between climate change and the green economy with sustainable development.
The department's third quarter of 2010-11 indicated that 15 742 work opportunities and 6 700 full-time equivalents had been created. In addition, more than 17 000 work opportunities and 8 350 full-time equivalents are expected to be created by the end of the year.
The department is promoting the empowerment of designated communities by creating 30 000 full-time equivalents and 60 000 work opportunities over the medium term, through implementing Expanded Public Works Programme projects.
I hope that these objectives and measures in the departmental strategic plan will be achieved. This strategic plan of the department finds expression in many sections with regard to environmental safety, protection, sustainability and conservation, in accordance with its programme and aligned activities.
I would also like to highlight that the department should be briefed in future before ratings and performance bonuses are finalised.
Climate change impacts on global environmental, social and economic systems. In November 2010, the department published the 2010 National Climate Change Response Green Paper for public comment, and the White Paper was set to follow in the first half of 2011.
The climate change Green Paper should recognise that sustainable development and green jobs are an unequivocal future, as all indications and logic point out that natural resources, including minerals, will be depleted. Therefore, this Green Paper should support policy initiatives on the green economy, the provision of decent jobs, and sustainable development.
Climate change poses an enormous threat to economic growth. About 70 million people and up to 30% of Africa's coastal infrastructure could face the risk of coastal flooding due to rising sea levels and intense storms of great frequency over the oceans. The department has initiated a process for outlining a comprehensive implementation framework on climate change for Africa, which unpacks climate change mitigation and initiatives to be embarked on in Africa.
This year we will be hosting COP 17. This big international meeting is a significant milestone for South Africa, especially in the light of the critical stage at which the climate change talks are. South Africa voluntarily announced at Copenhagen that it would act to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020, and 42% by 2025. In conclusion, the hon Minister has shown her commitment through her performance contract with the President. The department will be following the Ministry's leadership to work to fulfil the environmental programmes which will be needed to balance and meet the mandate of service delivery. Chairperson, the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]