It will cost South Africa about R300-million to host the 17th Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban next year, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Wednesday.
The city of Durban is expected to cover about 25 percent of the cost of the event, she said in response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance.
The city's responsibilities will include providing the venue, security and marketing for the November 28 to December 9 conference. It will see the next round of negotiations towards a global accord on combating climate change for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.
Earlier this month in the Mexican resort of Cancun negotiators reached a an agreement calling on rich countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and developing nations to plan to cut emissions, to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Negotiators hope to clinch an encompassing, legally binding accord in Durban. - Sapa