Address by the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Ms Pam Tshwete, MP, at the Second Ministerial Meeting on Urbanisation and Climate Change held on 6 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the theme: Multilevel Action and Partnerships - Advancing Multilevel Cooperation to Achieve the Paris Agreement
Good morning
Programme Director;
Honourable Ministers;
Deputy and Vice-Ministers;
Executive Directors;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am honoured to be here this morning, representing the government and the people of South Africa.
Climate change has also become one of my country’s most critical risks. The negative impact of climate change affects the economy, social form, and ecological dimensions. Millions of people have been affected by weather related disasters and hundreds of billions of South African rands have been spent towards rebuilding houses and infrastructure.
This has necessitated dedicated funding to enable the government to effectively respond to these recurring disasters, with a multi-dimensional approach, depending on whether the locality is rural or urban, coastal or inland.
South Africa’s adaptation response in relation to human settlements views the three spheres of government as complementary role-players, with local government taking the lead, while national and provincial government provides an enabling and supportive role. Our thinking is that a strong policy framework at national level is important for guiding local adaptation strategies, including establishing standards of best practice.
As part of National response, on the 24th October 2023, Cabinet passed the South African Climate Change Bill which requires all organs of state that perform climate change related functions or are entrusted with the achievement of a sustainable environment, to review, coordinate and harmonise their policies and programmes to ensure that the risks of climate change impacts and associated vulnerabilities are taken into consideration.
In line with the Bill, the National Department of Human Settlements is embarking on a multi-level and multi stakeholder engagement process. The objective is to develop a Human Settlements Climate Change Response Strategy and an implementation plan to ensure that our policies, regulatory framework, and practice respond to the prevailing consequences arising from climate change.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We remain committed to building climate resilient human settlements and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our living spaces through a Just Transition towards economic-friendly and nature-based solutions.
We welcome that at the first-ever African Climate Change Summit held in Nairobi in September this year, African leaders committed to promote investments in urban infrastructure, including upgrading informal settlements and slum areas, to build climate resilient cities and urban centres. It is worth emphasizing that similar commitments are necessary at a regional level.
The department of Human Settlements we have developed the White Paper for Human Settlements which has been approved by Cabinet for public comments. The White Paper seeks to enable legislative amendments in order to promote development of integrated and sustainable human settlements in South Africa.
In conclusion, this demonstrates South Africa’s unwavering commitment to collaborative strategies that benefit everyone and leaving no-one behind.
I thank you.
