T Essop: Climate Change Seminar

13 February 2006

This Climate Change Seminar comes at a critical point in the Western Cape.
We have just been through an interesting period and I constantly tell my
Department (of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning) that we have
never been presented with such a window of opportunity.

Drought, water restrictions, we have just come through devastating fires
disasters, energy problems, with Eskom dealing with securing energy into the
future, all of this presents the Western Cape with critical opportunities. We
are providing cutting edge leadership on these matters.

The Western Cape has placed itself in a position to provide leadership to
our sister-provinces. We were the first province to finalise the Provincial
Spatial Development Framework (PSDF); we embarked on a status quo analyses on
the implications of climate change; We are in the process of finalising our
legal framework, (the integrated law reform process) before June; we were the
first province to hold a Sustainable Development conference, came out with a
declaration of intent and are developing a sustainable development
implementation plan.

We have started providing cutting edge leadership for sustainable
development and specifically its facets of climate change, the critical
impacts, the risks we face and the impact on the Western Cape.

The Western Cape will be one province that will face some of the biggest
climate change challenges in the country. We can not sit back and wait for it
to happen, we need to respond. Our Premier, Ebrahim Rasool tasked the
Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the Department
of Agriculture to draft a response, adaptation and mitigating measures to
climate change.

This seminar will have to emerge with an action orientated strategy. At this
level the Province plays an important role in implementing strategies, be they
national or international. We become the nursery ground around implementation.
climate change presents risks to us, but we believe when dealing with
strategies to address and mitigate there are also opportunities.

National government invited us to be part of their team to Montreal, we have
lots to be proud of. The South African delegation played a leading role in the
global context, South Africa and the rest of the continent contributed
significantly in Montreal. Post 2012 Kyoto was pushed strongly. I spoke at the
summit of regional governments and was struck at the role we can play. It was
fascinating to listen about best practices model across the world, but land use
management was always omitted.

Our spatial dimensions and the mitigation responses we can develop in terms
of land use and the PSDF provides a sound basis. Built into the PSDF are the
objectives we talk to. Natural resource management, river systems, the built
environment, how we manage and grow cities are critical to where people live,
work and how they are transported. We have guidelines around the built
environment, we have emphasised that public transport becomes a bigger
priority.

The socio-economic risks that climate change brings with it speaks directly
to the socio-economic risks that impacts on agriculture and biodiversity and
this will mean job losses to farm workers. The Department of Agriculture has
been tasked with an alternative crops study and we need to look at agricultural
practices moving away from the conventional form of agricultural practices. We
can see the impact on the economy and our vulnerable communities.

The threats to the poor will become great, especially those who depend on
natural resources for their income. The PSDF will form the basis for any
strategy. The Western Cape has an amazing coastline which is under threat. The
rapid development advancement below the high water mark poses a threat as
climate change will have an impact on rising seas levels and will impact on
coastal livelihoods. What we are experiencing is real, we have experienced
water shortages, warmer seasons and fire. No-one can sit and debate if there is
a problem. Our communities are feeling the problems, we have to come with
implementation plans.

This year my Department and I are promoting the Environmental Economy, once
again climate change presents fundamental risks but also opportunities. I
believe, after listening to international players, we have the opportunity to
mainstream the Environmental Economy, and it is not just the eco-systems
economy which is bandied about but not mainstreamed. We intend mainstreaming
the Environment Economy so that it becomes meaningful. We have a micro-economic
development strategy which promotes sectors like call-centres, ship-building
and oil and gas. Fundamentally the Environmental Economy should also be a
sector. Renewable energy is not on the table, the recycling sector needs to be
developed. There are opportunities for new forms of construction and design and
opportunities to create entrepreneurs in these new sectors.

At this time we are still conceptualising what the Environment Economy base
it, but we have started a working group to come up with key programmes and best
practice models to show we have a good case to drive the Environment Economy as
a major sector. Renewable energy is big, as a province we are developing an
energy strategy, critical to renewable energy. We are well-placed to pursue
cutting edge technology and to meet our targets.

I am excited about solar energy, and after reading the article in the
weekend papers about a South African professor who has developed a cheaper,
more effective solar panel, I want to say let us keep it proudly South African.
One of the suggestions I want to leave with this seminar is to set up a Western
Cape Climate Change Council.

Issued by: Office of the MEC for Environmental Affairs and Development
Planning, Western Cape Provincial Government
13 February 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za/)