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Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology

Global Change Grand Challenge & the Climate Change Negotiations

16 September 2009

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Two-part briefing

• Introduction to the Global Change grand challenge and its implementation

• Department of Science and Technology an the climate change negotiations

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Key issues to cover

• 10-year Research Plan

• Interventions that support the implementation of the research plan

• Areas for accelerated technology development and innovation

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Understanding a changing planet

Reducing the Human Footprint

Adapting the way we live

Innovation for Sustainability

1. Observation, monitoring and adaptive management.

2. Dynamics of the oceans around southern Africa.

3. Dynamics of the complex internal earth system.

4. Linking the land, the air, and the sea.

5. Improving model predictions at different scales.

1. Waste minimization methods and technologies

2. Conserving biodiversity and ecosystems services

3. Institutional integration to manage ecosystems and the services they offer

1. Preparing for rapid change and extreme events

2. Planning for sustainable urban development in a South African context

3. Water security for South Africa

4. Food and fibre security for South Africa

1. Dynamics of transition at different scales - mechanisms of innovation and learning

2. Resilience and capability

3. Options for greening the developmental state

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Understanding a changing planet

1. Observation, monitoring and adaptive management.

2. Dynamics of the oceans around southern Africa.

3. Dynamics of the complex internal earth system.

4. Linking the land, the air, and the sea.

5. Improving model predictions at different scales.

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Reducing the Human Footprint

1. Waste minimization methods and technologies

2. Conserving biodiversity and ecosystems services

3. Institutional integration to manage ecosystems and the services they offer

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Adapting the way we live

1. Preparing for rapid change and extreme events

2. Planning for sustainable urban development in a South African context

3. Water security for South Africa

4. Food and fibre security for South Africa

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Innovation for Sustainability

1. Dynamics of transition at different scales - mechanisms of innovation and learning

2. Resilience and capability

3. Options for greening the developmental state

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Key Performance Indicators for Grand Challenge

• Human Capital Development and Transformation

• Development of knowledge base and assets

• Making an impact on the economy and society

• Enhancing South Africa as a science destination

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Centre of Excellence

Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Studies

(ACCESS)

Global Change,

Society, and Sustainability

South African Environmental

Observation Network (SAEON)

Africa Earth Observation

Network (AEON) programmes

Inkaba ye Africa/ Ikhure Africa

Space Agency (Global Change

Monitoring Network)

South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (R&V Atlas)

SA Polar Research

Entity

Bureau on Global Change Science

Global Change Performance and Investment Council

Knowledge Brokering

Support Unit

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ACCESS

• Globally significant inter-disciplinary Centre of Excellence (CoE) focusing mainly on knowledge theme 1 at this point in time

• In addition to research, a big focus on building human capital development and knowledge transfer

• Ambition to make ACCESS globally recognised • Recently formalised and work will start in earnest

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Earth System Masters

• Flagship programme under ACCESS• Number of universities collaborating to develop

new human resources with a well-rounded Masters programme

• Growing need for people with this orientation and skills set

• Intending to kick off the programme at the start of the 2010 academic year

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Global Change Monitoring Network

• Together with our plans on Space and Earth observation, South Africa needs to enhance in observation and monitoring capacity

• Well-advanced in terms of developing a long-term plan in this regard

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Global Change, Society and Sustainability

• Development of long-term research programmes that support knowledge themes 2, 3 and especially 4

• This research work will support the process of long-term planning envisaged by the Ministry of Planning

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Bureau on Global Change Science

• Initiative that will bring together leading scientists with other policy and decision-makers to systematically look at the research findings and to ensure that this research is supporting policy and decision-making at the national level

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Risk and Vulnerability Atlas

• Project initiated in January this year• Information systems and tools that will support decision-

making at localised levels (mainly)• Working closely with users• Integration of information from a variety of sources

(climate change projections, demographic changes, other environmental pressures) to provide more usable information for local decision-makers for planning and decision-making

• First version of Atlas to be released early next year

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Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Centres

• Physical centres located in rural universities that would use the Atlas to provide information, support, and assistance to local municipalities and other decision-makers

• Planning to roll-out 5 such Centres over the next 3-4 years. The first Centre should be launched by June 2010

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Technology Development

• Supporting the development of the Environmental Goods and Services sector (‘green industries)

• Energy grand challenge• Other areas of focus will include waste

technologies, water, agriculture, environmental monitoring, built environment, and coastal protection and management

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Part 2

The Climate Change Negotiations

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Essential Background

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

• Kyoto Protocol - more powerful with binding measures.

• Kyoto Protocol was for a five-year period from 2008-2012

• COP is the "supreme body" of the UNFCCC. – SBI and SBSTA

• COP-15 in Copenhagen

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Replacing Kyoto

• COP-11 in Canada (2005) initiated an ad-hoc two-track process to start the process of looking at the future climate change regime beyond 2012

• The two-track process was a compromise to keep the US in the negotiations where the one-track was focused on the Convention and the other on the Protocol

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Bali Road Map

• COP-13 (2007) - Bali Roadmap agreed• Mitigation measures must be balanced with

adaptation requirements• Both mitigation and adaptation require effective

‘means of implementation’ – Finance, technology, and capacity development

• The need for an appropriate shared vision• Introduction of the concept of MRV’s

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Shared Vision

Bali Road Map

Mitigation Adaptation

Technology

Finance

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Current status of overall negotiations

• Negotiations happening on all fronts at the same time

• Draft negotiating text formulated over the last few months

• However, progress has been slow and there are growing concerns about what can be achieved by COP-15 in Copenhagen

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South Africa and the global framework

• Adaptation and mitigation both crucial for South Africa

• On mitigation, DST was involved in the development of Long-Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS) for South Africa

• The LTMS proposes a peak and decline scenario for South Africa

• Our ability to achieve this will either be supported or hampered by the international framework

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Need Business Unusual on Technology

• Current institutional arrangements are insufficient to deliver immediate and urgent technology development, deployment, diffusion, and transfer to non-Annex I Parties– Executive Body on Technology– Multilateral Climate Technology Fund– Technology Action Plan

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Way forward

• Negotiations is extremely dynamic at the moment with discussions happening within formal negotiating structures and outside of them,

• Intense lobbying on individual countries and nations on mitigation measures including South Africa,

• What happens over the next few months are difficult to predict

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Thank You

Imraan Patel and Mac Makwarela

Department of Science and Technology

Imraan.Patel@dst.gov.za; Mac.Makwarela@dst.gov.za

012 843-6430, 012 843-6530