Zuma says Paris climate agreement restores hope for future

South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday hailed the Paris climate change agreement which he said presents a big step forward in committing all countries to act decisively against climate change.

"Through this agreement, hope has been restored for a safe and prosperous future, where climate change will be adequately addressed," Zuma said in a statement released by The Presidency, the Office of the President in Pretoria.

Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted a historic Agreement in Paris on Saturday to address greenhouse gas emission for the post-2020 period, while increasing developing countries' ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.

"The success in Paris is the culmination of the watershed Durban Climate Change Conference in 2011 where Parties to the Convention agreed to the mandate for the Paris Agreement," Zuma said.

This agreement was also reached as South Africa chaired the Group of 77 plus China, a group of more than 130 developing countries representing more than eighty percent of the world's population. The Group is comprised of a diverse group of countries, but united by the goal to protect the vulnerable and poor.

The Group of G77 plus China was more united than ever before in the history of the climate change negotiations and South Africa managed to rally this group of developing countries, which made a decisive difference in building the political will that was required to reach agreement on this important issue, Zuma noted.

Climate change poses a grave threat to developing countries' ability to ensure that their people are lifted out of poverty, he said. Enditem