Minister Dion George attends BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting and 8th Session of Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) in Wuhan, China, 21 to 23 Jul

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, will attend the BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting on 21 July 2024 and the 8th Session of the Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) on 22 -23 July 2024 in Wuhan, China.

The Ministers responsible for climate change from the BASIC countries will gather for the bi-annual meeting to discuss key issues related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations at the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP29). These include the need to finalise the rules around carbon markets, adaptation indicators, the Just Transition Pathways Work Programme, the Mitigation Work Programme, and the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) on finance. It is important to ensure a balanced agenda that addresses issues critical to developing countries and to pressure developed countries to fulfil their commitments. The BASIC group plays a pivotal role in unifying developing countries and providing leadership in climate negotiations.

"South Africa reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with 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," the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George said.

MoCA is one of the platforms created at the initiative of individual States in support of the UNFCCC negotiations that seeks to identify issues of convergence and divergence at a political level, with a view to bridge building and exploring potential landing zones ahead of the COP. MoCA is convened by China, the EU and Canada.

"I look forward to the frank political discussions on the progress and complexities around implementing the COP 28 outcomes, the role of carbon markets, the new collective quantified goal on climate finance beyond $100 billion per annum to be set at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as other critical negotiations items needed to be addressed," Minister George said.

Such meetings are important because the negotiations often deadlock at the technical level due to geopolitical tensions and the national interests at stake. South Africa has traditionally played a key role in the UNFCCC process, helping to secure consensus outcomes, including through special co-facilitation and chairing roles being conferred to successive South African Presidents and Ministers at Climate Summits and COPs over the past two decades.

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