Climate change preparedness critical for the future, economy and people

• Published date: 27 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

President Cyril Ramaphosa says recent flooding in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape is proof that climate change is upon us and that preparing for its effects is now, more than ever, critical.

The President was addressing the 6th Meeting of the Presidential Climate Commission on Friday.

'We have been warned about the physical effects of climate change and this has been tragically demonstrated by the recent floods. The floods have shown how rapidly extreme weather events can cause massive devastation that manifests itself through the loss of life and widespread physical destruction,' he said.

The President reflected that South Africa is situated in one of the regions which is 'warming faster than the global average', with scientists predicting 'less rainfall in the west... and more severe storms and heavy rainfall in the eastern part of the country'.

President Ramaphosa said potential disasters of the magnitude of the recent flooding have brought government's disaster preparedness into sharp focus, with critical questions and solutions sought.

'Can we improve early warning systems so that communities and authorities are better able to respond in time? Is our disaster management capability fit for purpose? And in building back our infrastructure and human settlements, how can we make them more resilient to such disasters in future?

'Apart from the tragic human consequences, the damage to human settlements and our economic infrastructure has been massive. As we rebuild, we must reflect on our country's preparedness and our response to such disasters,' he said.

Just Energy Transition

President Ramaphosa said the commission is hard at work creating a framework for South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET).

According to the President, this framework sets out the JET vision, principles which will be followed in the transition and the interventions needed to 'give full effect to the transition'.

'A just transition needs to be our point of departure when dealing with climate change. Poor people, the unemployed, workers and rural communities are most vulnerable as our economy transitions to a low carbon future. We have to find ways to protect jobs and empower workers and communities as our country carefully navigates the shift away from fossil fuels,' he said.

The President highlighted that research coming out the Climate Commission has shown that more jobs can be created in the low carbon...