Pretoria - The devastating floods that recently wreaked havoc in parts of KwaZulu-Natal was a stark reminder that the reality of climate change continued to be a threat to all of us.
This was the sentiment shared by Tshwane Executive Mayor Randall Williams during the launch of a climate action plan hosted at the University of Pretoria (UP).
The plan was launched in partnership with UP, Future Africa, C40 Cities and the Tshwane Economic Development Agency under the theme “A net-zero carbon and climate resilient City by 2050".
Williams said: “Following the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods it was important that metros pay attention to climate change issues.”
The climate action plan, he said, was a profound commitment to future-proof Tshwane against the damaging impacts of climate change.
Through the plan the metro would ensure that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which were the cause of global warming.
Williams said the action plan committed the City to being net-zero carbon by 2050.
“To achieve this goal, we must reduce our emissions by 15% by 2030, 45% by 2040 and 100% by 2050,” he said.
Deputy director-general at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dorah Modise, said: “We are facing a real climate disaster. Ethekwini frightened all of us with what we just had with regard to flooding. Gauteng is bound to get that. But also with water shortages. We have seen day-zero threats in the Eastern and Western Cape. It is imminent in Gauteng as well.”
She threw down the gauntlet to public service practitioners to be bold and ambitious enough in implementing the plans aimed at addressing climate change.
According to her, the difficulties in dealing with climate change often lie in the implementation.
She talked about the importance of the government to leverage its convening power by bringing the private sector on board for assistance.
Senior official at the National Treasury, Anthea Stephens, said her department supported eight metropolitan cities through a city support programme by offering technical support and partnership to address climate change challenges.
“The national government recognises that climate change presents massive risk to the fiscus and the cities of South Africa play a significant role in ensuring a resilient economic growth. And this requires change because the patterns of urbanisation and growth is one of externalising the risks on the most vulnerable,” she said.
She mentioned that dumping and litter were activities that clogged storm water drainage in Ethekwini over the last month and led to the devastating impact of the floods.
Dorah Marema, municipal sustainability’s portfolio head at the South African Local Government Association, said it was important for cities to identify climate change opportunities in their daily service delivery mandates.
“The call is to work with local government practitioners in terms of identifying opportunities that lie in their day to day service delivery mandates,” she said.
Mayor of the City of Joburg and C40 vice chair, Dr Mpho Phalatse, said the metro adopted the same action plan in June 2021 and committed to changing the world through the passing of green policy.
In Joburg, she said, littering alone cost the city R74 million a year while illegal dumping cost another R80m a year.
“With 55% of the global population living in cities and rising, cities are critical in addressing this challenge,” she said.
Phalatse pledged her support to Tshwane, saying both cities will be building the net-zero carbon cities together by 2050.
Pretoria News