M van Schalkwyk during marking of Kyoto Protocol anniversary

13 February 2006

“We can all do more. We should all do more – in every office and every home
in South Africa.” This was the message of Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, speaking today at an event to mark the first
anniversary of the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol.

Joined by a team of energy efficiency experts from Eskom, the Minister
announced details of the ‘greening’ of De Meule, his residence in Cape Town –
including the installation of energy efficient lighting, solar water heating,
better insulation, and a range of other measures which will also be applied at
the residences of other Ministers and government leaders in the weeks and
months ahead.

“In the same way that the effects of climate change – like increased
flooding, droughts, and fires – affect all of us in our own communities, so too
must we accept personal responsibility for doing our part to fight against
climate change,” said the Minister. “Action by governments around the world is
the most visible in addressing these challenges, but governments alone will
never make the difference. The reason we are here today is to highlight what
each and every South African can do, in his or her own home, to reduce the
amount of energy that we use.”

“Few people realise what it means when a switch is flipped and a light
turned on. The average light bulb does a great deal more than just shed light,
it is responsible for electricity consumption which costs the homeowner almost
R2 per bulb per month. That cost however is not the worst cost,” said the
Minister, “The electricity has to be generated – in our case by Eskom. This
means that coal needs to be burned, which in turn leads to the emission of
greenhouse gasses - a major contributor to climate change.”

Speaking about the potential for energy savings the Minister said: “Changing
just one older light bulb to the more energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamp
(CFL) will already make major changes: the electricity saving is about
R1,50/month and R18,50 per year, but more dramatically this one bulb changed
will save, over its lifetime, about 430kg of coal and about 1100 litres of
water which would have been used at the power plant to generate the extra
energy needed by the normal bulb. The changes that will be made to De Meule
today may seem quite minor but the results will be dramatic: at least a 40%
saving on the total energy consumed, with more than 80 litres of water, 31kg of
coal, and 56 kg of CO2 emissions saved every day. That’s more than 29 000
litres of water, 11 300 kg of coal, and 20 400 kg of CO2 in just one year – in
just one home.”
 
Recalling the success of the National Conferences on Climate Change last year,
the Minster also made use of the opportunity to outline plans to intensify
Government’s response to climate change in 2006. “Through our Chairing of the
G77+China this year we will continue to promote a better balance between
adaptation and mitigation in the global response to climate change. We are also
very aware of the need to deal with the unintended consequences of climate
change response measures and will push for policies and measures that extend
economic diversification and ensure that climate change action is aligned with
sustainable development objectives. In South Africa we will also be rolling out
our first Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM) projects – like the one right here
in Kuyasa, Khayelithsa, using cleaner development to generate revenue from
developed nations to support our climate change actions.” Other plans mentioned
include operationalising the agreement with the South African private sector
(BUSA) on emissions; using the new Air Quality Act to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions reporting and encourage cleaner production; and reviewing the South
Africa Climate Change Response Strategy.

The Minister also released scientific reports about climate change in South
Africa that have been used by government to help shape the national response
strategy. “One of the outcomes of the National Science Conference last year was
a consensus that more needed to be done to mainstream the science of climate
change,” said the Minister. “In response to this I am pleased today to announce
that we are releasing the Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Reports and
scientific data which contributed to our National Climate Change Response
Strategy and our First National Communication on climate change. Although this
information is not brand new, and some of it is already being revised, it will
provide scientists from around the world with more detailed insights into the
vulnerability of our communities and biodiversity to climate change, with more
than 1000 pages of data and reports. In essence the data was the first to
suggest that climate change impacts would significantly affect the livelihoods
of our communities every day; that the biodiversity and agricultural impacts
will be increasingly severe, with likely implications for food security,
agricultural production, poverty levels and the loss of species. The studies
also projected climatic changes for South Africa that would have direct
implications for combating health challenges like Malaria.” The information can
be accessed at http://www.sanbi.org/countrystudy

Speaking about the significance of the event, the Minister added: “What
today is meant to underline is how everyone – in government, in business, in
academia and in every community - has the capacity and the responsibility to
make a real difference in our efforts to combat climate change and its worst
effects.”

Enquiries:
JP Louw
Cell: 082 569 3340
Head of Communications: DEAT

Rob Spaull
Ministry
Cell: 083 777 8563

Barry Bredenkamp
Eskom
Cell: 083 655 6891

Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
13 February 2006