Speech by Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts at The ESG Africa Conference the Sandton Convention Centre
Programme Director and Moderator;
ESG Steering Committee and Directors of the ESG Africa Conference;
Keynote Speakers and Distinguished Participants;
Good morning to all.
At the outset, I wish to appreciate this opportunity afforded to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to present a keynote address at this leading platform of the Annual ESG Africa Conference.
Ladies and Gentlemen, South Africa is setting itself up to be a leader in green hydrogen, renewable energy, and sustainable industrialisation thanks to its substantial stocks of critical minerals, plentiful solar and wind energy, and other resources. South Africa remains firmly committed to contributing its fair share to addressing the global climate crisis.
Numerous studies have highlighted the tremendous demands developing nations have in relation to climate change and the inadequacies and poor quality of current public climate finance flows. Furthermore, despite their extremely limited fiscal space and constricted economies, poor countries—the ones that have contributed the least to the climate problem—continue to bear the costs associated with.
Like the rest of the African continent, South Africa is vulnerable to water and food security, health, livelihood and infrastructural challenges due to climate change.
In South Africa, where climate change, resource scarcity, and socio-economic disparities are pressing concerns, adopting sustainable practices becomes crucial. These practices can help reduce carbon footprints, conserve natural resources, and create healthier, more resilient communities.
Pathways towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have been considerably altered by multiple crises. The critical objective of "leaving no one behind" remains at risk due to the mounting inequalities, worldwide economic challenges, and financial shocks associated with COVID-19, which have made financing for sustainability even more challenging.
Africa, which hosts most of the world’s poor, is on track to meet just 6% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has gone backwards on 17% of the SDG targets. If SDG investment needs are to be met by 2030, 24 trillion US Dollars of additional investment must be found for developing countries, including 8 trillion US Dollars only for Africa. Instead, developing countries today face the worst economic outlook and the most unfavourable financing conditions in decades.
A just transition to a low-carbon economy will make South Africa’s economy more resilient and strengthen the country’s global competitiveness, which will create opportunities to reduce poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
We must therefore address, how do we then effectively shift towards realising South African’s vision for long-term, just transition to a climate-resilient and lower-carbon economy and society.
Distinguished participants, this is where the realm of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices comes in. The discipline of ESG investing has become increasingly popular worldwide due to investors' growing emphasis on sustainable and responsible investment methods.
With its varied economy and abundance of natural resources, South Africa has become a major force in the ESG investment market. Good corporate governance requires an acknowledgement that an organisation doesn’t operate in a vacuum but is an integral part of society and therefore has accountability towards current and future generations.
We therefore acknowledge that long-term orientated investors need better information, including on environmental, social, and governance factors of businesses. Whilst it is essential that businesses understand the impact of their activities on the environment and society. It is no longer sufficient to focus solely on financial performance; investors and stakeholders now demand that companies adopt sustainable practices that consider the long-term impact of their operations.
Businesses in South Africa can improve their competitiveness and reputation in addition to complying with regulations by accurately reporting information about a company's sustainability policies, and their ESG performance.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we strongly believe in partnerships and further recognizes the huge opportunity such partnerships present, serving as a catalyst for sustainable development, especially if we can strengthen capacity to engage in and lead such efforts.
Partnerships must be leveraged to forge and strengthen the relationship between government and private sector and civil society to address challenges and to fully unlock the potential of ESG and sustainability investing in South Africa. Promoting comprehensive public-private partnerships as a means to address complex developmental challenges effectively, is the solution for the way-forward.
Notably, H.E President Cyril Ramaphosa just last week led the South African delegation to the 79th Session of the United Nations General Debate and High-Level week in New York. As part of President Ramaphosa’s programme were engagements with business leaders to attract foreign direct investment for South Africa. Our efforts to promote South Africa as a favourable investment destination continue to yield positive benefits.
We thus encourage Business Leaders to play a significant role in ensuring their organisations better integrate ESG principles into their value system and overall organisational strategy to fully benefit and harness the investment opportunities that lie ahead for the country.
South Africa needs to accelerate its pathway towards a more equitable, environmentally sustainable and low-carbon developmental trajectory; with an inclusive social protection system that can withstand the impacts of climate change and support a just transition to a sustainable future.
In keeping with the overall theme for the 3rd Annual ESG Africa Conference, of “A Sustainable Future Through Leadership;” it is essential that business leadership foster collaboration to ensure that the pledge to leave no one behind becomes a reality.
Distinguished Participants, l wish you all vibrant discussions that will address common challenges, while creating sustainable and innovative solutions.
I Thank You.
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E-mail: pmbelengwa@dffe.gov.za
