While thousands of international delegates gather at Sharm el Sheik in Egypt for the Climate Change Conference (COP27), KwaZulu-Natal will at the weekend welcome delegates who will be attending the 20th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, which will place climate change under the spotlight.
For the first time in history, KwaZulu-Natal will be hosting the prestigious annual lecture, which will take place at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban on Saturday, 12 November 2022.
The 20th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture will be held physically for the first time since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and will be delivered by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley.
The lecture will be held under the theme “Social Bonding and Decolonisation in the Context of the Climate Crisis: Perspectives from the Global South”, and Prime Minister Mottley is expected to delve on the impact and responses to climate change, especially in the developing world.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has welcomed the hosting of the lecture and the fact that the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) is using the lecture to focus on climate change, just as the world gathers for COP27 and following the devastating April floods, which left many families displaced.
“On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal it is an honour to be hosting the 20th Nelson Mandela Lecture, an event that attracts global attention and which will focus much-needed attention on our province.
“We are also honoured that the lecture will be given by the Prime Minister of Barbados. This is a clear demonstration of the world’s solidarity with the people of our province as we recover from the destructive impact of this recent climate change-related weather condition,” Dube-Ncube said.
Ensuring full implementation of Paris Agreement
Meanwhile, the United Nations COP27, which takes place from 06 to 18 November 2022, opened with the key aim of ensuring full implementation of the Paris Agreement and Convention.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres noted that this year’s COP27 takes place against a backdrop of extreme weather events worldwide, an energy crisis propelled by the war in Ukraine, and scientific data, reiterating that “the world is not doing enough to tackle carbon emissions and protect the future of our planet.”
The Secretary-General said COP27 must deliver a “down-payment” on climate solutions that match the scale of the problem.
“Climate change is the defining issue of our age. It is the central challenge of our century, and it is unacceptable, outrageous and self-defeating to put it on the back burner.
“Indeed, many of today’s conflicts are linked with growing climate chaos. The war in Ukraine has exposed the profound risks of our fossil fuel addiction,” Guterres noted.
Source: South African Government News Agency