Parliaments Urged to Influence Positive Climate Change Outcomes at COP17

The Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tuesday adopted a Declaration on Climate Change which will be conveyed to the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was going on in the South African city Durban this week.

Speaking at a meeting of International parliamentarians in Durban, speaker of parliament Max Sisulu called on parliaments to influence climate change outcomes to ensure these were in the interests of the people they served.

"The voices of Parliamentarians as the representatives of the people we serve are the strongest voices of persuasion at local, national, regional and international level. We must use this leverage to bring about positive action and positive change," Sisulu said.

The meeting was jointly organized by the South African Parliament and the IPU.

"As Parliamentarians we must ensure that we are the center of the dialogue on climate change at all times. Let us also send a clear message from the global parliamentary community to COP17, through the declaration on climate change, and let us use this Declaration as a platform for future work on climate change," Sisulu told other parliamentarians.

Among other things, the declaration adopted reiterates that a transparent and open multilateral process under the UNFCCC is the only forum for negotiations on climate change and that it is necessary to ensure that the interests of the developing countries, in particular the most vulnerable, are protected.

It reaffirms the urgent need to support developing countries in their adaptation efforts, particularly the most vulnerable of the small island developing States (SIDS), the least developed countries (LDCs) and countries in Africa.