Zuma calls for climate actions

Durban - The world needs to move away from analysing and studying climate change to identifying practical adaptation actions, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.

"There can be no dispute that research and analysis are important aspects of adaptation actions. However, we now need more practical action, Zuma said during the opening of the high level segment of the 17th Conference of the Parties (Cop17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

There was a need for the world to start implementing actions on the ground, Zuma said.

"In this regard, the Adaptation Committee must be constituted. Its functions must be decided upon so that it can begin its work."

The committee would help bring into focus what needed to be done for the world to adapt to climate change.

"The committee must bring an end to the current fragmented approach to adaptation in the convention," Zuma said.

There was an urgent need for the green climate fund to begin.

"Developing countries demand a prompt start for the fund through its early and initial capitalisation," he said.

Zuma admitted that the early capitalisation of the fund would be difficult as many countries were facing economic problems.

He told delegates there was a need to show the world that parties were ready to address the problems in a practical way.

There was a need for countries to rise above their national interests, no matter how difficult.

Zuma said there was a need to build trust and to re-assure one another of honest intent and commitment to find solutions to climate change.

"By now all of us understand that Durban is a decisive moment for the future of the multilateral rules-based regime, which has evolved over many years under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol," he said.

The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol agreed in Cancun in 2005 was about to come to an end.

"It is also clear that if this question is not resolved, the outcome on other matters will become extremely difficult," said Zuma.