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2. Role of Parliamentarians in Climate Change Climate change is a development issue: it causes poverty, affects food security and has a severe impact on the global economy. Climate change has moved from being a scientific to a policy issue, and it is in this context that Members of Parliament (MPs), as representatives of the people, have an important role to play. The affected are the people who are far removed from negotiations in Copenhagen, Cancun and now Durban, and who through no fault of their own, are at the receiving end of the actions of “global polluters”. The only way their conditions can change is if there is a policy shift, if there is action on the part of policy-makers and the people, who represent them, i.e., MPs.

3. 11/10/28 Thus, the role of parliamentarians,  the ratification of the results of negotiations concluded in the Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings.  the monitoring and reporting on the implementation of international agreements, treaties or conventions.  parliamentary scrutiny, and also in the wider efforts to reform the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol processes and their rules.

4. 11/10/28 Legislators have several opportunities to influence the ongoing climate change negotiations. First, to assess and present the climate change vulnerability status of the country, with the aim of developing a national climate change response policy that could form the basis for effective participation in international climate change negotiations. Legislators could use this broad policy framework to determine the suitability of the country’s position in international climate change negotiations. Legislators could also spearhead or expedite the development of climate change legislation following the finalisation of domestic climate change policy to bolster the negotiation position of the country.

5. 11/10/28 As the elected representatives of the people, legislators should play an important role in ensuring that the electorate’s priorities are reflected in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions framework policy, strategy and legislation that inform national positions in international climate change negotiations like the rapidly approaching Durban Climate Change Summit.

6. 11/10/28 A broad-based consultative process in the formulation of the Climate Change Policy that cuts across (political) party lines is more likely to achieve three critical objectives: Enhancement of accountability and transparency; Strengthening of equity; and Improvement of public legitimacy and enforcement of new policies. Thus, legislative debates can provide a platform for building consensus and facilitating decisions about climate change policy trade-offs, which is crucial in an environment where the demand for funds typically exceeds available resources, and difficult choices need to be made.

7. 11/10/28 Parliamentary Forums as Vehicles for Consensus Building Bilateral parliamentary engagements between the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and other foreign national parliaments offer unique opportunities for parliamentarians to exchange ideas on building national consensus on specific aspects of multilateral climate change negotiations, including, but not limited to COP17.

8. 11/10/28 Similarly, the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), which works in cooperation with African Parliaments to strengthen parliamentary democracy in Africa, keep Africa high on the political agenda in Europe, and facilitate African-European Parliamentary dialogue, also works with over 20 parliaments to assist African parliaments, including South Africa to effectively respond to urgent challenges the continent is faced with, especially climate change.

9. 11/10/28 The proposed hosting of the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) meeting and Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Cape Town, prior and during the COP17 meeting, is indisputably an important opportunity for parliamentarians to interact and negotiate a common position at the COP17 meeting and hence influence the outcome of negotiations in a manner suitable to public representatives and their respective constituencies.

10. 11/10/28 Furthermore, the South African parliamentary delegates to the Cancun Climate Summit met with their European Union (EU) counterparts to share experiences and exchange views on climate change interventions undertaken in South Africa and EU, respectively. The role of EU MPs in pushing the EU Member States to implement deeper emissions cuts was duly noted by the South African MPs and highlighted the need for South African parliamentarians to be at the forefront of the battle against climate change. Indeed, parliaments have important roles in building regional, international and multilateral positions on climate change.

11. 11/10/28 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Climate change is a social and political risk, requiring global citizens to act now, act differently and act together. Parliamentarians can play critical roles in addressing climate change in conducting their representative, legislative and oversight functions. Parliamentarians can also facilitate relevant Government departments to access and monitor the financing of climate change as well as contribute to improve the relationship between the legislature and the executive. Besides the pertinent recommendations below, experts have suggested the establishment of a world Parliament on global climate policy.