http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.asp?id=68756

The South African government on Saturday called on the international community to beef up efforts to deal with climate change.

The 2011 UN Climate Change Conference created a strong momentum to meet the challenge and this momentum should continue, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana- Mashabane said in a statement.

"It is essential that the momentum is maintained, and I see a strong willingness amongst governments to provide the necessary strong, high-level political leadership," she said.

The UN climate change conference, held in Durban in December, passed a package of decisions on such subjects as the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the Green Climate Fund and a new process to arrange emission-cutting pledges after 2020.

"The Durban conference resulted in one of the most encompassing and furthest reaching outcomes in the history of the climate change negotiations," Nkoana-Mashabane said.

"All governments share the sense that equity needs to be a central component of the future climate change regime," she said.