Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town will host a panel of participants from the recent COP 17 climate talks in Durban at an open meeting on Thursday, 8 March, at 6pm at the Memorial Chapel of Bishops School.  Panellists will share their insights into what happened there and what this means in the global, African, South African and Western Cape contexts and respond to audience questions.

The panel will be chaired by Professor Mark New, Director of UCT’s African Climate and Development Initiative.  Other panellists are:

• Professor Harald Winkler, Group leader: Energy, Environment and Climate Change at the Energy Research Centre, UCT, and member of the South African UNFCCC negotiating team at COP17;
• Professor Guy Midgley, Chief Director: Climate Change at the SA National Biodiversity Institute, and member of the South African UNFCCC negotiating team;
• Professor Bruce Hewitson, National Research Foundation Chair for Climate Change, UCT; and
• Dr Nigel Crawhall, Director of Secretariat of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee

Archbishop Makgoba, who also chairs the Anglican Communion’s Environmental Network (ACEN), stressed the timely nature of this meeting.  “We heard for months about COP 17 before it took place, but we have not heard much since.  I know that a previous meeting at UCT was oversubscribed so the interest is definitely there.  I’m privileged that we have been able to draw together again such an impressive panel. This is not just a scientific concern - it is a deeply moral issue as well.”

The Revd Canon Dr. Rachel Mash, coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s Environmental Network, agrees. “Once we have heard from this well informed panel, we and other members of civil society can begin to plan our ‘next steps’ leading up to Rio +20 - the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio in June.”

The meeting is convened by the Diocese of Cape Town Environmental Group and SAFCEI (The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute).

For more information, contact the Rev Dr Rachel Mash on rmash@mweb.co.za. There will be a limited time for questions, please email them in advance. 

Bishops School is located at 65 Campground Road, Rondebosch.