The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa recognises the responsibilities assigned to South Africa in hosting the 17th Conference of Parties (COP) in Durban, 29 November – 9 December 2011. As the legislative arm of the Government, Parliament also realises the significance of its role in assisting the Executive by creating an opportunity for engagement on the form and content of the negotiations to reach consensus on an agreement on climate change.

With regard to the role of parliamentarians on aspects of climate change, their focus is on their roles within the legislative, accountability, oversight and budget allocation processes. To undertake these mandated functions, a collaborative approach with the South African citizenry is essential. To this end, Parliament facilitated a national consultative seminar to convene climate change engagements with the Executive, civil society, business, traditional leaders and other relevant stakeholders on key aspects of negotiation issues to promote consensus building toward COP 17.

The following objectives underpin the theme, ‘Attaining Consensus and Committee in Attaining a Global Agreement on Climate Change at COP17,’ of the seminar