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Africa is vulnerable to climate change.
And this vulnerability is exacerbated by its history of colonialism and under development together with current problems of indebtedness, high levels of inequality, unemployment and a lack of robust infrastructure.
Minister of environment, forestry and fisheries Barbara Creecy pulled no punches in her statement to the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Tuesday.
Creecy reaffirmed that South Africa plans to enhance its climate change plans by 2020, in line with the Paris Agreement, sending a strong signal at a convention where some of the worst emitters were reluctant to commit to doing what they need to hold off the worst impacts of climate change.
“As announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his submission to the UN Secretary’s Climate Action Summit in September this year, South Africa is committed to fulfilling and enhancing our Nationally Determined Contributions,” she said.
“As part of this effort, our Carbon Tax Act came into effect on June 1 this year. Additionally, comprehensive Climate Change legislation is in the pipeline. Our effort is beginning to bear fruit.”
Creecy said that South Africa’s third biennial update report showed greenhouse gas emission reductions from 2012 to 2015.
Read: Africa needs to take meaningful action on climate change
“As a responsible global citizen, we will always strive to make a fair contribution to the global climate change effort in a manner that simultaneously addresses our national priorities to eradicate poverty, as well as reduce inequality and unemployment.”
She urged those present to finalise the full operationalisation of the Paris Agreement.
1. The financial support to enable developing countries to communicate more ambitious adaptation and mitigation contributions; and
2. Robust modalities and rules with environmental integrity governing the market and non-market mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including reaching agreement on how to contribute to adaptation finance through a share of proceeds of all carbon market transactions flowing to the Adaptation Fund.
“South Africa, like all African countries, is experiencing serious and ever-increasing climate change related impacts, including the frequency and severity of storms, droughts and floods,” she said.
“These are already causing significant social and economic disruption. It is an unfortunate reality that the brunt of these impacts are borne by the poorest and most vulnerable communities and groups, largely found in developing countries.”
Creecy said that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity this century, and countries needed to respond according to their respective responsibilities, circumstances and capability.
Our collective global response must be informed by the best available science, she said.
“The most recent scientific reports on oceans, land and scenarios towards a 1.5-degree rise gives a stark warning that we must act now. We must work to prevent accelerated desertification and ecosystem and land degradation. We must also ensure that the serious risks to sustainable fisheries and security of our food and tourism are minimised.”
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