On 28 February and 1 March 2011, the National Planning Commission (NPC) hosted a dialogue on how to transition to a low carbon economy. This event, one of the first such events held by the Planning Commission, was held at Liliesleaf in Rivonia, Johannesburg. The seminar dealt with both the science and economics of climate change and discussed the implications for policy formulation and for our society as a whole.
The event was attended by about 100 people, invited from a broad range of organisations including business, labour, academia, government and civil society. The aim of the event was to stimulate discussion on precisely how South Africa would manage the complexities of shifting to a low carbon economy, over time.
Some of the precise questions dealt with included; what are the drivers for business to change, how do we protect the poor and vulnerable from climate change, how do we reduce carbon emissions while still raising growth and employment, how we can promote industries that are less carbon intensive, and what implications global trends have for South African policy makers?
While it is clear that there is overwhelming evidence that CO2 emissions by humans are contributing to climate variability and that we need to curb our emissions, it is also clear that we need a careful, well thought through plan to manage this transition so that we can continue growing, creating jobs, reducing poverty and inequality while at the same time reducing our carbon emissions. This will not be an easy or straight-forward transition. Managing climate change involves all of society, many aspects of public policy and globally coordinated actions. The NPC recognises this huge challenge and it is likely to be an important part of the plan that will be released later in the year.
The dialogue was opened by Minister Trevor Manuel and some of the speakers included Lord Nick Stern, Tom Heller, Guy Midgely, Minister Rob Davies, Deputy Minister Jeremy Cronin, Nosipho Ngcaba, Roger Baxter, Zav Rustomjee and Harald Winkler.
The National Planning Commission intends conducting similar seminars on a range of topics over the next few months so that South Africans from all walks of life can engage with the difficult challenges facing South Africans. We do this so that all South Africans can get involved in the drafting of the vision statement and national plan that the commission will release in November 2011.
For more information please contact:
Kuben Naidoo
Tel: 012 308 1811
Cell: 078 108 8289
E-mail: Kuben@po.gov.za
Source: The Presidency
