WWF asks South Africans to push for stronger climate change action

Image credit: Bruno Ngarukiye on Dupe Photos

James Reeler, WWF’s senior technical specialist on climate action, said: “Now is a critical time for South Africans to raise their voices and make the call for stronger climate action and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

“The impacts of climate change are devastating communities across the country, and failure to adequately address them will undermine economic development.

“We need to make it clear to both the government and the international community that South Africa can and will step up to the challenge that climate change poses.”

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Decarbonise the economy

Our economic and social development hinges on the country’s ability to address climate change and decarbonise the economy, as evidenced by both independent research and research funded by the government’s own Presidential Climate Commission.

The Paris Agreement requires all countries to increase ambition in their new NDCs, and South Africa, which is responsible for more than its fair share of global emissions, is no exception.

Calls for climate justice and ambition from grassroots and across society have been making the case for some time.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recently said, “The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing... the energy transition is unstoppable.”

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Renewable energy is now the cheapest form of energy ever available, and our new NDC must embrace this opportunity or South Africa’s export products will be at risk, and our developmental goals will fall out of reach.

Global climate finance

Despite strong lobbying efforts from some heavy emitters, there is a growing voice of concerned businesses calling for more ambition, with 95% of business leaders supporting a transition away from fossil fuels.

As an example, the Alliance for Climate Action, a grouping of over 50 South African companies and five major metropolitan municipalities, has issued a call for strong ambition in this NDC.

Reeler continued: “Climate change adaptation is also a vital element of our national ambition that we must urgently strengthen.

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"With the new NDC covering the period to at least 2035, it must demonstrate how we plan to address the risks to which a changing climate exposes our agriculture, infrastructure and health.

“In addition, a strong NDC is an opportunity for South Africa to access critical global climate finance, and to channel it smartly into the areas that will most strongly support national development.”