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BUYELWA SONJICA: It is my pleasure to welcome this agreement from South Africa whereby we will be strengthening the relationship between our countries South Africa and Australia, but also are looking at cooperating on a very important matter which is a challenge to all of us - not only Australia and South Africa, but is a challenge to all humanity and, indeed, we know that as South Africa we will tap from your experience but really what is important is that there is a firm ground for us to cooperate.

Firstly as officials between the two countries both of us have coal, and we have a problem of coal being a fossil, and there is a need for us to look at how we mitigate coal as a fossil fuel so that we can manage the effects of climate change. I think I am quite happy looking at the economic instruments that will help us also deal with the matter of climate change. I know that there are various instruments that we’ve looked that may be slightly different but we share the experience. We of for the low carbon tax which does exist in the country and I’m sure you have another experience in Australia, but you are also looking at you helping us or we helping each other in the course of exchanging experiences with building our capacity, especially for adaptation in the agricultural sector.

I think that it would be very, very important for us to have that kind of exchange of experience and knowledge, also in a situation whereby your experts would come to South Africa and share this knowledge with our own. Otherwise I am quite happy with the broadness of the declaration of intent, because I think that we will be able to pursue a number of things within the context of what we have included in the declaration of intent. So welcome Minister, we look forward to strengthening this bilateral cooperation. As you will appreciate, it doesn’t end with us as departments. It extends to the countries, and indeed we welcome you and we are looking forward to this very healthy and dynamic relationship. What will be important minister, to make it dynamic, is for us to implement. It will be very, very important that we implement what we commit ourselves to.

SIMON CREAN: Thanks very much Minister Sonjica and it’s good to make our acquaintances again so soon after our dialogue in Davos. On that occasion to do with water. But this is a very significant commitment between our two governments today, to extend a program that was entered into by the previous government in Australia, but a government that wouldn't ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The big difference with our government that came in two years ago was that we immediately moved to ratification, and we have been a driving force internationally through the G20 and we have shared very strong commitment from South Africa in the G20 dialogue.

The issues that the minister has talked about I concur, and I'll just go through a couple of them in a minute, but to make the broader point. As part of our re-election, we've also made a very strong commitment to re-engaging with Africa. And so it’s very fortuitous that being here this week for the Mining Indaba conference, and to come to Pretoria and meet with a range of Ministers about how, in a bilateral sense, the cooperation can be expanded not just between the two countries, but together in the multilateral context, is very important indeed. We've increased our aid significantly and we've made a very strong commitment to understanding the importance of capacity building as part of the arrangement going forward.

The Minister has talked about the issues that we've discussed before we came in here about where the areas of ongoing cooperation can be focused. Clearly the question of exchanging views on the economic instruments to drive the climate change agenda is terribly important. We've got to make sure going down the respective paths of market mechanisms or taxes within countries, that the taxes don't become a new form of protectionism. There is a difference between a carbon tax as a mechanism and a border tax, and it’s going to be very important that we continue to engage that dialogue.

The reference to the coal industry is terribly important. Both of our economies are going to be heavily dependent on coal for the foreseeable future as part of baseload for energy. It’s therefore vital that we're looking at effective mitigation techniques within the coal industry. So our announcement to establish the Carbon Capture Storage Institute was an important initiative that came out of the London G20 and I'm delighted that South Africa was one of the first of the foundation members in that institute. So we need to strengthen our efforts so far as the carbon capture storage programs are concerned.

Another area for opportunity going forward is in the question of sequestration in the agricultural sector. Because clearly as the processes for addressing climate change move forward for all sorts of reasons, there are sensitivities within the agricultural sector. But the science and technology enables us again, through proper adaptation and mitigation techniques, to really work harder which we trap and retain emissions. So for two very strong agricultural countries this too is a vital area of support.

We want to work as well on the importance of biodiversity within our respective countries. So this is not just in our view a resigning of something entered into three years ago, this is a significant building on it on the basis of a very important commitment to engage effectively, and in a stronger fashion, with South Africa, not just in the bilateral context but through the multilateral fora as well. So it’s my pleasure to be here today to be able to sign the Letter of Intent on behalf of the Australian Government.

QUESTION: I just want to find out from the two ministers, will you be working together, Mr Crean spoke about multilateral forms will you be trying to achieve what the Copenhagen Accord failed to achieve?

SIMON CREAN: We of course we looked to work with all like-minded to achieve something more satisfactory than Copenhagen achieved. I think that whatever the disappointment with Copenhagen, it did lay the basis for moving forward. We would have liked a stronger outcome, but I think we understand better a number of developing countries particularly the BASIC group.

I am delighted that not only has Australia submitted its commitment going forward, so too, I am advised by the Minister, have all the BASICs and this I think is a significant statement of intent. They held a meeting in New Delhi, and made very strong commitment to build on the Copenhagen exercise. I think that as disappointment as it may have been we have got to put it down to experience and drive opportunity going forward.

I think this signing today demonstrates our commitment at the bilateral level. I think if we doubted anyone’s intentions, we have no doubt about South Africa’s intentions going forward. The task for us is to build effectively, engage in dialogue, develop the technical solutions and look to practical demonstrations, as well as the exchange of information. That is what this agreement is a statement about. It is going to be important in terms of the bilateral relationship going forward. I think it is also going to be important in framing the way in which we continue what is a very good dialogue between our Prime Minister and the President of South Africa in the G20 context.

BUYELWA SONJICA: Thank you very much minister. I think it is important to make the point that climate change and the solution to dealing with climate change affects all of us. It’s a matter that all of us need to grabble with until we find a solution. So whether you are developed or developing, in as far as dealing with the problem of climate change we have interests in common. I think that is the first point I would like to make. Secondly the experience at Copenhagen told us that we have a problem with multilateralism and I think we need to restore its dignity. For us, it would be very important that the process is taken back to the UNFCCC so that you restore that dignity because it is the only institution that all of us can account to. With all the flaws that it has, I think we all still need to work hard to ensure we bring back the dignity to that office. Thirdly, South Africa was one of the 28 countries that were friends of the chair and, so to speak, we are the pioneers of the Geneva Accord. We own the political Accord because we were one of the countries.

So for us we have looked at the Accord and identified the building blocks within the accord and of course we see this as a basis on which we can build and move forward. Indeed we want a strong outcome, a fair outcome and an equitable outcome and we feel we have a basis within the political accord with which we can work and improve so that we come closer to what we are all looking for. We are not so short sighted that, along the way in the process of finding a solution, there will not be compromise. We have been compromising. It is a give and take situation and that’s what negotiations are all about. But for us we would be very happy if the principle of common differentiation would be upheld and underpin the negotiations going forward so that we don’t lose that. I know that the Accord itself has spoken to the common but differentiated principle as the underpinning principle of the Accord. So for me those would be my few comments. Yes we have already submitted before the 31st of January. We were among the first to submit to the UN Secretariat. So we are of one in wanting to see movement and if anything, I was teasing my colleagues from America. They were saying South Africa you must be ready. I was saying why must you want this to be concluded in South Africa? Why don’t we conclude it in Cancun? For us, we need a solution because it is very important. But again we must not forget the very important principles of common but differentiated responsibility is quite important. But Minister we will cooperate. Now and then we will differ and fight each other. But we must all be prepared to take the process forward.

QUESTION:.You both mentioned a number of priority areas. One thing I have not seen here is the issue of water resources and the potential effects this might have. Climate change will probably have an impact on the water resources of both countries. Do you intend to cooperate on the issue of water as well?

SIMON CREAN: Again, this is a discussion that we had before we came here and also in Davos. The thing that struck me about the Davos engagement was two important factors. One the strength of involvement and commitment by the corporate sector to play a strong but individual role and leadership role on the importance of water conservation and preservation and the mechanisms for doing it. The second of course was the realisation again of this common but differentiated concept. As we have moved to a market-based mechanism and a national system in Australia, we have also had to understand that the markets alone won’t do it if the regulatory framework is working against you. So we’ve had to deal with both of those. But it’s really important to understand that it’s an easy thing to say in a developed economy. It’s much harder, in fact impossible to do in developing countries particularly those dependent on subsistence agriculture. So therefore the technological adaptation has to be an important part.

Now, I’ve made the point at the session in Davos that from Australia’s perspective, whilst we’ve ended up with a market mechanism, that’s not where we started. We started at the regional level. We started at the practical example level of getting community ownership of the importance of ownership of care for the land, water conservation and looking after the land. We built community-based movement s in which, whilst we did move progressively to put the price up, we only did it when we funded the infrastructure that reduced the call on water. So in a sense we were able to neutralise the cost. Having developed those series of models we were able to get much greater acceptance of the scheme. What does that tell us? It means you can’t subplant a model on another country with your own standards. But it is critically important to start with practical examples and at a local level. So we’ve talked about where the opportunities might lie. But if we can combine it with the broader related issue, but fundamental to South Africa going forward, and that’s food security and lifting productivity and better land management techniques. These are all areas of technical capacity that we are very good at. So we are prepared to share those approaches and with the increased aid effort I’m sure we are going to be in a much better position to drive some of them in response to the needs identified here in south Africa.

BUYELWA SONJICA: My understanding of what we have here does not preclude us exchanging experiences and ideas on number of issues. Because if you are looking at water resources, water resources are vulnerable to the influences of climate change. I mean, we have just but this broadly. Any cooperation that we want within the broader framework represented here, surely there are interesting experiences and technology in Australia related to water and we would want to tap that experience. There was an interesting proposal that you heard in Davos for farmers that looked at incentivising farmers to pursue efficient technology for irrigation. That was the proposal that the Minister made and we were very interested in that because it would bring efficiencies. You’ll appreciate that it’s important we give our farmers the quantity of water that we are giving them but at the same time it seems that they could have the same yield when they were using less water. Less water but the same product coming out from their activities. So for us it is very interesting. But of course you would need to bring the Minister of Agriculture and we could take it from there. But it’s a very broad framework and we would be able to pursue the issue of lack of water. I think what is important Minister is that we must implement we need to agree that over a certain period of time we have established a team from both sides, a team of officials that would put together a program of action so that we give life to this declaration. It does not end in paper. We must give life to it and the best thing to do would tbe to have this team of officials that would look to immediately implementing some of these approaches that we might have identified.

QUESTION: Just a simple question: have South Africa and Australia submitted their commitments? I believe the deadline was 31 January?

BUYELWA SONJICA: We already have done that.

SIMON CREAN: We have. We submitted on the 27th January.

BUYELWA SONJICA: Ours was there on the 29th.

[ENDS]

Media inquiries

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