Rich nations must tackle climate: ANC

2011-11-28 15:28

Johannesburg - Developed countries must take bigger responsibility for measures to curtail climate change, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Monday.

The party's executive agreed at the weekend that developed economies accounted for most of the global emission of greenhouse gases.

The national executive committee felt South Africa's representatives at the UN climate summit in Durban had to argue a case for developing countries, Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.

Developing countries still had to contend with development needs and the need to reduce climate change caused by its citizens, said Mantashe.

"In this regard, the African National Congress argues for a gradualist approach to developing countries."

The ANC NEC acknowledged that the 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change was a significant initiative.

The summit began in Durban on Monday and runs until December 9.

It is aimed at getting countries to agree to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would keep any rise in global average temperature to below 2°C, to prevent catastrophic climate changes later this century.

- SAPA