Cape Town - Local businesses and environmental groups want President Cyril Ramaphosa to prioritise climate change and provide clarity on the massive funding package secured at Cop26 to assist South Africa’s energy transition as part of a new collective global goal on climate finance support for developing countries.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) executive head of business development Justin Smith said climate change, together with biodiversity loss, was one of the biggest and most systemic challenges of the time.
“Despite the clear goals of the Paris Agreement, and the urgent need for each country to put in place the necessary plans to curb emissions, progress is still much too slow, and the threats and impacts of climate change are becoming ever more critical,” Smith said.
Smith said if the country was serious about addressing the challenge of climate change, it must continue to engage the corporate and investor sectors in efforts to influence the redirection of financial flows and withdraw the resources that underpin environmentally, socially or economically harmful impacts.
350 Africa South African team leader Glen Tyler-Davies agreed and said there were too many examples of businesses dragging their heels in their response to climate change whereas implementing a rapid switch to renewable energy would ensure power supply, cut energy costs and boost the economy.
“It was in businesses interests to decarbonise their own activities and lobby government to speed up the energy transition,” Tyler-Davies said.
Consultancy business Trialogue manager Matthew le Cordeur reminded that the Presidential Climate Change Commission was currently undertaking an extensive stakeholder and community engagement.
He said climate risk was not only an environmental issue but also a direct economic and social issue with implications for the future competitiveness of the country and the livelihoods of its people.
South Africa National Research Chair on Climate Change and director of the UCT Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG), Bruce Hewitson said business and industry has a clear role to play as partners in the national transition, and a strong role to play in leading the necessary changes.
“I would hope there is greater clarity on how this (energy transition) funding package balances international loans versus grants and the consequences of this. Moreover, to what degree is SA depending on this package versus other options and self-funding the necessary shifts,” said Hewitson.
Extinction Rebellion hoped that the president would declare a climate emergency and commit to meaningful urgent action to tackle the climate and ecological crisis.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za