The Western Cape Government is planning and coordinating projects to address the wide-ranging impact of climate change. A formal task team, under the leadership of Minister Bredell, Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, supported by Minister Meyer, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, met yesterday to discuss progress on several climate change initiatives.

Minister Bredell said that according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report of 2023, the top four global risks for the next decade are all directly linked to the impact of climate change.

“We have developed a Climate Change Response Strategy and Implementation Plan that is based on a provincial vision of being a net zero emissions and climate-resilient region by 2050, while also building an equitable and inclusive economy and society that can thrive despite the shocks and stresses posed by climate change,” Minister Bredell said.

The Plan’s focus areas are:

• Responding to the climate emergency.
• Transitioning in an equitable and inclusive manner to net zero emissions by 2050.
• Reducing climate risk and increasing resilience.
• Enabling a just transition through the public and private sectors together with civil society collaboration.
   

There are several priority focus areas which have been recognised by the Western Cape Cabinet, and climate change response strategies are currently being embedded in each one. As such, a Water Indaba and Infrastructure Indaba were hosted earlier this year.

Looking forward, Minister Bredell said climate change is being mainstreamed throughout the provincial growth strategy, Growth for Jobs (G4J). Climate finance and the role international partners can play is also being addressed.

A partnership between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the University of Stellenbosch will be formalised in October this year. “This is an important partnership for the provincial government and will give us access to the work of leading academics on climate change,” Bredell said.

Minister Meyer said the inter-ministerial committee on climate change signals the seriousness with which the Western Cape Government views climate change and that it is incumbent on all of us to take the necessary steps to mitigate the impact of climate change on the agriculture sector.

Minister Meyer continued: “within the agriculture sector, climate change causes unpredictable weather patterns, a change in the agricultural economy, forced technology adaptation, infrastructure changes on farms, adaptations in the type of input and machinery on farms, and changes on groundwater and surface water availability.”

“Given the potential impact that climate change could have on the agricultural economy, we must take the necessary steps to protect the economy and jobs,” added Minister Meyer.

Minister Bredell said that a Climate Change Indaba is being planned in the near future, where private sector stakeholders will be invited to engage with government on climate change specific projects and proposals. This indaba will be preceded by inter-departmental engagements as well as municipal engagements on climate change.