Climate Change Policy Summit Science Day
4 March 2009
Honourable Ministers
Honourable Representatives of the South African Parliament
Representatives of various Embassies
Fellow colleagues in government
Ladies and gentlemen
The Department of Science and Technology is proud to host todayâs science
day. I am confident that the presentations, discussions, and engagements that
follow will play a significant role is shaping and guiding the policy
discussions that follow over the next two days.
Of the many complex challenges facing humanity today, climate change has
been the issue that has had the most success in terms of using science to
inform policy and action. But we need to be building on this foundation.
Climate change is undoubtedly a foremost challenge of the 21st century. It
is the only issue that consistently ranks high on the political agenda of all
nations of the world, be they developing or developed, and also feature high on
the agenda of multilateral forums such as the United Nations.
As such, it is no surprise that the broader global scientific community is
being challenged on a daily basis to step up to the plate and play an even
bigger and more value-adding role in the fight against climate change.
This is a major challenge since climate change touches on so many areas of
STI, i.e. science, technology, and innovation. To set the scene for the science
day, I would like to use my limited time to focus on six key STI challenges
that I think we should focus on as well as two cross-cutting ones. Measures to
address these challenges will need to be strongly integrated into the climate
change policy framework that is the focus of this summit.
Firstly, the complexity and scale of climate change require a very strong
foundation in the fundamental earth sciences. Important work on the science of
climate change happened over the last couple of decades. These were effectively
consolidated in the set of reports that emerged from the last Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process. As you will hear in the presentations
that follow, the fourth assessment report clearly demonstrated that urgent
action is required if we are to avert major crises.
However, it would be a mistake to assume that scientific consensus on the
need for action imply that we now enough in terms of the functioning of the
climate system. The climate system as part of a broader earth system is complex
and there are many areas where it is imperative for fundamental understanding
to be substantially improved.
One such area is the importance of the Southern Oceans and its associated
land masses. Oceans cover 71 percent of the earthâs surface and have a major
influence on climate. Their currents distribute heat around the globe, while
evaporation from the sea surface increases the moisture content and warmth of
the air above, contributing to cloud formation and wind generation. The
southern tip of Africa is also an important oceanic circulation âchoke pointâ,
lying close to the intersection of three pathways of the global ocean conveyor
belt, which plays a vital role in the heat balance of the earth and hence its
climate.
Ensuring that adequate resources are directed towards a deeper understanding
of the role of the southern ocean on climate change should be a vital part of
any package of STI efforts over the next 5-10 years. The results of these
investments will be of greater benefit for the global community. Consistent
with the policy approach of using our geographic advantage for STI efforts,
South Africa is providing significant support for the vital area of work.
However, as will become evident in my address, there are other vital STI
areas of work related to climate change that are essential for South Africaâs
development efforts and which need to be substantially enhanced. As such, it is
vital that our developed country partners and the business community also
appreciate the importance of the fundamental earth sciences and work with
government to enhance this area of work. Over the last couple of years, we have
invested in appropriate research platforms and institutions and we stand ready
to work with others to significantly grow this vital body of knowledge.
Secondly, the IPCC fourth assessment report, particularly the report from
working group two, highlight that of all the continents, Africa is likely to be
the most negatively impacted due to climate change and variability. Impacts
will be wide-ranging and will be felt in the water sector, agriculture,
fisheries as well as negative exposure to sea-level rise.
These high level observations are important in focusing attention on the
major challenges likely to be faced. However, for meaningful action to be taken
on adaptation and climate-proofing there is a need for more work on the
downscaling of climate projections and to link these to shorter run changes in
climate variability. In addition, new tools and science are required which are
designed around the needs of decision-makers instead of the interests of
scientists and researchers. As an example, for decision makers, the language of
risk is more useful especially if the risk is defined in terms of multiple
impacts.
My department has recognised the importance of this challenge and have
initiated and seeded a major flagship priority intervention known as the risk
and vulnerability atlas initiative. I encourage you to attend the side event
scheduled for this evening to get more information on the initiative but more
importantly to contribute to shaping and developing the atlas so that it
becomes an important bridge between the science and policy communities.
The third issue that I would like to highlight is that of earth observation.
Coping with climate change and variability demands good scientific
understanding which is based on sufficient and reliable observations.
During the 2002 World Summit on sustainable development held in South Africa
as well as calls emerging from the G8 (Group of Eight) leading industrialised
countries, the urgent need for international collaboration was highlighted as
essential for exploiting the growing potential of Earth observations to support
decision making in an increasingly complex and environmentally stressed
world.
This has led to the formation of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) with a
mandate to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). GEO
enhance our understanding of the earth system its weather, climate, oceans,
atmosphere, water, land, geodynamics, natural resources, ecosystems and empower
us to manage and exploit its resources in a sustainable manner. We are proud to
be a member of the Executive Committee and one of the four co-chairs of
GEO.
South Africa stands to not only benefit from GEO but we can also contribute
immensely in the generation, analyses and dissemination of new knowledge in
this regard. Two years ago, we received approval for the South African Earth
Observation Strategy (SAEOS) which provides an important framework for
maximising the benefits of earth observation efforts in South Africa. Shortly,
we will see the establishment of the South African Space Agency (SASA) and this
will provide a major boost to implementing the SAEOS framework.
The increasing importance of climate change as an issue is reflected in the
work of GEO. For the 2009 to 2011 work programmes, five of the 46 GEO tasks
directly deal with climate activities. An important task is the resourcing and
implementation of the Climate for Development in Africa Programme (ClimDev
Africa). ClimDev Africa aims to improve the availability, exchange and use of
climate information and services at national, local and regional levels in
support of economic growth and achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals.
The development of observation networks is resource-intensive but the lack
of such networks can decrease our ability to respond effectively to the
challenge of climate change.
The fourth challenge is the one that is well-known and tends to dominate
discussions at the national as well as global level. This relates to the urgent
need to substantially enhance efforts on the energy front. We have already put
in place a number of platforms, initiatives and programs that assist in
building the technological capabilities required to mitigate climate
change.
Driven by a vision to ensure energy security and support economic growth
without compromising environmental protection, these platforms include the
Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, whose mandate is to train
scientists and engineers with the required technical expertise to unlock the
country's renewable energy resources and implement appropriate technology for
sustainable energy use. The Department of Science and Technology also funds a
demand side management and energy efficiency hub, the aim of which is to
develop and strengthen capacity in energy efficiency, including fuel switching
to renewable technologies, and demand-side management in support of accelerated
and shared economic growth.
The prospects, opportunities and challenges of a possible hydrogen economy
which is widely recognised as a sustainable and environmentally friendly part
of a future low carbon economy have persuaded the department to develop a
National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technologies Research, Development and
Innovation Strategy, and set up a sizable programme to develop South African
capabilities in these technologies. These initiatives will advance the
development of a critical mass of local capabilities in sustainable low carbon
energy technology solutions. The commercialization of these should thus help
reduce the countryâs greenhouse gas emissions.
The fifth key challenge is also in the technology and innovation space but
relates to adaptation. Sadly, this area continues to be neglected in the global
discussion on technology development for a variety of reasons. One of the key
reasons relate to the difficulty of applying traditional market mechanisms to
stimulate, development, deploy and commercialise these technologies,
particularly those that are required by the developing world.
Governments tend to be the major consumer of these innovations and as such
governments need to play a major role in their production and deployment.
However, with the other competing demands that developing countries face, they
are not in a position to resource such initiatives. On the other hand,
developed countries tend neglect these technology areas as they do not provide
any national level benefit and the commercialisation returns may be low.
South Africa has important capabilities in this regard and there is a
significant potential for enhancing economic returns if these innovation areas
are prioritised as well. A process is underway to work with others to
strengthen the innovation system for this sector. However, it is vital that any
climate change policy also focuses on the growth of those sectors that support
adaptation.
Finally, solving the climate change challenge through an exclusive focus on
hard technological fixes will not succeed. In terms of the nature of the
challenge, more effort is required in terms of understanding and managing
difficult issues in the area of human and social dynamics. This includes
measures and approaches to support changes in human behaviour towards
sustainability, greening the macro and micro-economic environments, the use of
fiscal instruments, etc. South Africa has small but important research
programmes exploring these difficult issues and I am proud at the feedback that
we get that South Africa is often regarded as amongst the pioneers focusing on
this vital area of science and research.
I would like to wind down my address by focusing on two cross-cutting issues
that are an integral component of the STI challenge in the fight for climate
change. These are human capital development, and reforming the governance and
functioning of the global system of innovation.
All of the STI challenges discussed above are dependent on the availability
of adequately trained researchers and technology developers. The interest in
earth stewardship by a growing number of young South Africans needs to be
harnessed through structured and proactive programmes so that we can create an
adequate base to service the many priority areas of research.
The second major issue relates to the governance of the global system of
innovation and includes the transfer of technology from developed parties to
developing countries. This continues to be a vex issue at the climate change
negotiations but it remain one of the four elements that will shape the
post-2010 deal. Our discussions today should include an exploration of
practical measures that will assist us in this regard and strengthen our
positions at the climate change negotiations.
In conclusion, South Africaâs relatively small STI base is actively engaged
with the full range of areas that constitute the science and technology
challenge in response to climate change. This includes efforts on fundamental
understanding, downscaling of global models, pioneering new scientific and
methodological approaches on risk and vulnerability, to strengthening global
earth observation to technologies for energy and for climate change adaptation.
The work being done on both the science and technology fronts need to be
substantially developed over the next few years and will require the support of
all parties.
I would like to end by thanking all of the speakers that follow and to thank
you for making time available to be part of the Science Day.
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
4 March 2009
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za/)
