Climate change awareness 'not at odds' with economy growth
In an opinion piece published in IOL, Edna Molewa, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs and leader of South Africa's COP17 delegation, says that South Africa is committed to addressing the global threat of climate change, but that this will not come at the expense of growing the economy, creating jobs or boosting international competitiveness.
In the IOL piece, Molewa writes: "Decisive action on climate change can no longer be viewed, as it is in some circles, as mutually exclusive to robust economic growth and development."
According to Molewa in her IOL piece, climate change poses a critical threat to socio-economic development, in areas as diverse as water and sanitation, food security, health, energy, industrial development and housing. At the same time, she stresses, "appropriate adaptation and mitigation efforts present viable and sustainable opportunities to transit towards a green economy."
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