Environmental and Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has urged South Africans to help fight climate change ahead of next month's Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.

Sonjica says the country will do everything in its power to broker a legally-binding deal for countries to reduce their carbon emissions during that gathering.

She says officials will not be pressurised into accepting weak outcomes adding the country has a vested interest in being part of the negotiations.

"We are there, for our national interest which is around developing countries being given space to continue to develop," says Sonjica.