Government has committed to using the insights and recommendations from the State of Climate Action in South Africa Report to inform the scaling up of the country’s actions to respond to climate change.

‘South Africa needs access to scaled-up, new, additional and predictable, fit for purpose finance, specifically grant and concessional finance that can be deployed effectively to create enabling environments for rapid investments by buying down risks and creating new asset classes for clean investments that would allow for more significant mobilization and leveraging of public and private finance,’ the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Director-General (DG) Nomfundo Tshabalala said on Thursday.

Addressing the launch of the inaugural South African State of Climate Action Report in Johannesburg, Tshabalala said the report points to the limited investment from both the public and private sector for the implementation of the country’s climate change response.

‘We are well aware that climate
change has the potential to reverse the developmental gains achieved thus far in the country, as such collaboration and strategic partnerships with the civil society, academia, business, labour [is needed] in responding to climate change.

‘The State of Climate Action Report underscores that the Just Transition is central to South Africa’s response to climate change, which puts the lives and livelihoods of people at the heart of its climate response to ensure that the most vulnerable and impacted are protected, supported, and empowered in the transition.

‘Indeed, a just transition to a low-carbon economy will make South Africa’s economy more resilient and strengthen the country’s global competitiveness, which will create opportunities to reduce poverty, inequality, and unemployment,’ the DG said.

As the country works towards a just energy transition, it will focus on the transition of the energy sector as it navigates the shift away from coal towards cleaner sources of energy.

This will ensure that the liv
es and communities that are tied to high-emitting energy industries (for example coal) are not left behind in the shift towards a low emissions economy.

To respond in a holistic manner to the threats posed by Climate Change, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address in February, the establishment of the Climate Change Response Fund (CCRF) that will bring together all spheres of government and the private sector.

‘By coordinating financial mobilisation from both government and the private sector through the Fund, South Africa will leverage on collaborative efforts to build resilience and respond to climate change.

‘This report will contribute towards our reporting processes to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as we are currently in the process of developing the Country’s Biennial Transparency Report (BTR). The BTR of South Africa will be submitted to the UNFCCC by 31 December 2024, in line with the Paris Agreement rulebook,’ Tshabalala said.

Se
ctoral Emission Targets

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published the Sectoral Emission Targets (SETs) for public comments.

The SETs are the main instruments for the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and are informed by sectoral Policies and Measures.

This ensures that climate change mitigation is main streamed within government planning processes and its related performance monitoring processes.

Assessment

‘South Africa has sophisticated greenhouse gas emissions monitoring systems that has helped to shape the form of the Carbon Tax system that we have today.

‘Work is underway to ensure that our national emissions monitoring system also incorporates the tracking of carbon budgets and mitigation plans to the allocated industry as per the Climate Change Act. The report will further contribute to the Monitoring and Evaluation of South Africa’s efforts towards addressing climate change,’ she said.

The DG welcomed the release of the State of Climate Ac
tion report, which provides a critical assessment of the country’s collective progress towards addressing the climate crisis.

The State of Climate Action Report provides a detailed analysis of the impact of climate change and progress towards South Africa continuing on a pathway to limiting warming to 1.5°C, enhancing climate resilience, highlighting areas of success and areas needing improvement – particularly the livelihoods of those most impacted by climate transition.

‘This report serves as a vital tool for understanding the effectiveness of our current efforts and identifying areas for improvement. The report documents some of the notable impacts of climate change to the South African society at large and makes proposition for better coordination across government.

‘It is pleasing to note that the launch of this report coincides with the signing into law of the Climate Change Bill by President Ramaphosa earlier this week, which sets out a national climate change response, including mitigation and ada
ptation actions, which also constitutes South Africa’s fair contribution to the global climate change response,’ she said.

READ | SA’s response to climate change outlined in new law

Alignment of policies

The Climate Change Act enables the alignment of policies that influence South Africa’s climate change response, to ensure that South Africa’s transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society is not constrained by policy contradictions.

‘The Climate Change Act also sets out measures to enhance South Africa’s ability and capacity over time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build climate resilience, while reducing the risk of job losses, and promoting new job opportunities in the emerging green economy.

‘It is indeed true, the climate change impacts have intensified and manifested through the frequencies of extreme events such as flooding, heatwaves, drought to motioned but few. These extreme events have increased in intensity and frequency, thus calling for concerted action across
the spheres of society.

‘The report points to fragmentation of strategic and technical responsibilities and calls for a more coherent and integrated response. The Climate Change Act, which we are currently working towards its operationalisation, will ensure integrated and coherent climate change response in the country,’ Tshabalala said.

Source: South African Government News Agency