Phiri told the Southern African Development Community - Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) meeting at Ditshupo Hall on Monday that FOCCISA is seriously concerned about the state of the climate negotiations. Phiri said they are worried that two important outcomes from working groups under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol are being overshadowed by the Copenhagen Accord, which is problematic both in terms of process and substance.
"We are opposed to the Copenhagen Accord as this was not adopted by the Copenhagen Conference and indeed, was a result of undemocratic and non-transparent processes. Most worrying is that the Copenhagen Accord implicitly destroys the Kyoto Protocol and removes international discipline on developed countries' mitigation. We demand that urgent action be taken to put climate negotiations and actions on a track toward climate justice. A critical step in this regard is a reaffirmation by all countries that climate negotiations be conducted in the multilateral process," Phiri said. Phiri said it is projected that if the world economy does not improve within the next two years, more than half a million mineworkers in Southern Africa will lose their jobs.
