Comment period for Climate Change Strategy extended by a month

30 September 2020

Members of the public now have until 30 October 2020 to comment on the City of Cape Town’s draft Climate Change Strategy. The comment period has been extended by a month due to the importance of the strategy and to give residents more time to comment. Climate change is a global threat and Cape Town is particularly vulnerable. This requires urgent and decisive action. A virtual public meeting on the strategy will take place online on 14 October from 17:00 to 18:30. More details will be communicated in due course.

This strategy is a key step in taking the City towards its vision of ramping up its climate change response, but will require a long-term and phased approach to achieve this vision.

The draft Climate Change Strategy confirms the City’s commitment to taking the necessary action to reduce damaging greenhouse gas emissions and of becoming carbon neutral, while also adapting and becoming resilient to the expected negative economic, environmental, and social impacts of climate change.

‘We need all stakeholders and residents to have a look at the draft strategy and comment because for this strategy to be effective, the City must work closely in partnership with residents, business, NPOs, academia, other spheres of government, and other partners across Cape Town. In many cases, the goals of the strategy are only partly within the control of local government or face regulatory barriers or the need for comprehensive sector reform. It is thus important for the City to show climate leadership through vision, planning, engagement, regulatory innovation, infrastructure development, and through the running of its utilities and internal operations,’ said the City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.

Climate change will impact all who live and work in Cape Town. The impacts include food, water and job insecurity, flooding, heat stress, ecosystem degradation, loss of and damage to infrastructure and property due to severe storms and strong winds, increased risk of fire, and the risk of loss of international market access due to the carbon intensity of our products and services.

Given the current high levels of unemployment, poverty, and informality, the city is even more vulnerable to these risks.

‘A pro-active approach to climate change will also assist Cape Town’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as the green economy offers new opportunities for enterprises and jobseekers. A proactive response to climate change also means seeking new ways to deliver essential services in a more inclusive, cost-effective and sustainable manner,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.

Alongside the strategy, the City is developing a Climate Change Action Plan, that includes being carbon neutral by 2050, which is scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2020. This forms part of a global commitment that the City has made to achieve the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Climate Agreement: among others, limiting global warming to below 1,5 degrees Celsius to prevent a climate catastrophe and to find ways of becoming more resilient and sustainable as we adapt to our new reality

‘We know that climate change is happening and that it is currently having and will continue to have a drastic impact on our world, and especially the most vulnerable residents and habitats. We know we can all take small steps in our homes and neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces to be climate smart and take more climate-friendly actions. Even small actions can lead to big results and can change our current path,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Phindile Maxiti.

In 2017, Council adopted the first City Climate Change Policy. This policy was reviewed in 2019 and is now being upgraded to a strategy. The latest draft builds on the commitments of the 2017 Climate Change Policy, and includes new commitments and a more ambitious programme of action.

The draft strategy is available on the City’s website. Please visit www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay

Submit comments:
• By email: ClimateChange.Enquiries@capetown.gov.za
• Online: www.capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office