President Jacob Zuma says he is concerned about the low level of ambition that major countries are showing leading up to COP 17, the United Nations climate change conference in Durban next month. He was addressing the Socialist International Commission for a Sustainable World Society conference, which is looking at priorities and targets for the conference. COP 17 will try to make progress to reach a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases, which cause climate change. Zuma says countries still need to do a lot of work to ensure that the time they have in Durban is put to maximum use. “We have no doubt that COP17 and CMP7 will not be an easy COP and it will require a special effort in negotiations to reach consensus on all outstanding issues. In Durban together we will have the difficult task of ensuring that the international negotiations stay on track and that we continue pursuing a global solution to the climate change challenge,” says Zuma. Meanwhile, Eskom’s spokesperson Hilary Joffe says Eskom often checks the quality of air at Matimba. She says with the upcoming Medupi power station they are going to use improved technology to make sure that the air and the environment is not negatively affected.
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