Let's ACT to restore our earth on Earth Day
22 April 2021
The City of Cape Town is paying tribute to all the climate action champions and especially our youth, in celebration of Earth Day, 22 April 2021. This year’s theme ‘Restore our Earth’ reminds us there are everyday actions we can all take to restore our earth and to make Cape Town stronger and more sustainable for all.
© City of Cape Town
This is in line with the City’s newly launched climate change response and resilience campaign, Let’s ACT. For a Stronger Cape Town.
‘Climate action champions in our communities, neighbourhoods, universities, schools, families and workplaces are so valuable in our quest to make our city stronger and more sustainable. We are therefore especially proud to announce that two City employees have been chosen as South African Coordinators for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Youth (COY16), which will take place before the United Nations Conference of the Parties COP26 climate conference scheduled for November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Youth from over 140 different countries will be participating.
‘Let’s support the climate action champions in our communities and nurture and encourage our youth to create the future that they want,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Phindile Maxiti.
About COY16
The COY16 was set up as a space for capacity building and policy training to prepare young people for their participation at the COP climate negotiations.
South African Coordinators Ashlin Naidoo (24) and Shamiela Reid (25) are responsible for carrying the COY16 message and gathering youth statements for South Africa’s position paper. This is then fed into a global policy document presented at the COP climate negotiations.
Ashlin
‘I am extremely fortunate to be appointed, especially to ignite and drive a climate change movement that will bring positive and meaningful changes in the lives of our nation’s young people,’ said Ashlin, from the City’s Sustainable Energy Markets Department, Energy and Climate Change Directorate.
© City of Cape Town
Shamiela
‘I am proud and excited to be joining young people across the world. It is now more important than ever to listen to young people because they bring forth a different, creative and innovative perspective to the negotiation process. This is how we can act to make our city stronger by making our voices heard,’ said Shamiela.
This is what taking action looks like:
Become a climate action champion.
Support youth-led climate action initiatives.
Start or support a neighbourhood food garden.
Reduce water usage in the home.
Change the light bulbs in the home to more energy efficient ones.
Switch off non-essential lights.
Buy energy efficient appliances.
Reduce, re-use and recycle, including organic waste through home composting.
Walk or cycle to the local shop.
Invest in a solar PV system or a solar water heater and also save on electricity bills.
Plant indigenous water-wise plants and trees in the garden.
Teach children about living more sustainably.
Buy sustainably produced and organic food where possible.
What is the City doing?
We have committed to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2050. Along with the Climate Change Strategy, the City is completing a Climate Change Action Plan that sets the pathway towards this goal. These will be released by June 2021.
The City has in place many programmes that support climate change adaptation, mitigation and climate resilience.
Adaption: building resilience
developing our water resilience
conserving our biodiversity and protecting coastal areas
enabling appropriate nodal development through the adoption of a coastal urban edge
Mitigation: reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions
driving energy efficiency in our own municipal operations
shaping regulatory and incentive mechanisms to support net zero carbon buildings
developing our own clean energy generation
procuring energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
enabling small scale embedded generation (SSEG)
waste reduction
building an efficient transport network
Over the last 10 years, the City’s energy efficiency in municipal operations programme has saved over 231 GWH of electricity. This is enough electricity to power 35 clinics over 10 years and translates into 229 035 tons of avoided carbon emissions.
Some highlights
60 City buildings retrofitted to make them more efficient
All traffic lights retrofitted with LED lights
563 kWp installed rooftop solar
34% of streetlights retrofitted
Resources
Caption 1: Ashlin Naidoo
Caption 2: Shamiela Reid
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
