Wendy Jasson da Costa
THERE’S no such thing as a free meal at the UN Conference of the Parties (COP17) conference in Durban, as everything served in the food court set up in the city’s International Convention Centre comes at a hefty price.
Ironically, activists such as Climate Action International’s David Turnbull highlighted the fact that in Africa, the effects of climate change would be most felt through food.
He said 95 percent of agriculture on the continent depended on rainfall and was therefore sensitive to climate change. The price of maize, for instance, had risen by up to 200 percent in the past five years.
“Right now, poor people don’t know when to plant their crops,” he said.
However, delegates must eat and those who opted for a Durban-style lamb curry with condiments had to fork out R55, while a “traditional” SA meal of lamb tripe and pap cost R25.
A bread roll with butter sold for R5 while a glass of wine, red or white, came with a price tag of R20.
“Tea and coffee – served separately”, according to the menu, is pegged at R15 a cup.
The dining halls were empty for most of the morning, but once midday arrived the queues for grub started.
Outside the conference centre, a handful of DA supporters, one draped in the SA flag, started the day with a protest in support of media freedom.
WWF International’s Tasneem Essop said COP17 was the “most unpredictable” to date.
The missing element, she said, was political leadership.
Essop urged all countries present to rise beyond their national interests, for the sake of climate change.
