06 June 2008

By Nangamso Mabindla

CITIES remain the biggest culprits when it comes to carbon emissions and it is considered only proper that if there is to be a meaningful change in the country’s energy consumption, it must be cities that champion the cause of sustainability - so says the South African Cities Network chairperson, Zintle Peter.

Peter, who is also Buffalo City’s executive mayor, was addressing her colleagues and delegates at a climate change summit in Johannesburg on Monday, 2 June. She said the summit was timely as there were many issues that needed to be discussed that affected people’s lives.

“It is timely because we are all very aware [of] the energy crisis in our own country; the price of fossil fuels internationally; as well as the inconvenient truth that the western industrial model is not environmentally sustainable if it continues on its present path.”

She said that all three spheres of government needed to work together in ensuring a meaningful change in the country’s energy consumption habits. “We must do this by being properly informed by reliable science and the principles of economic viability and affordability. I make this comment because of the debates that our country has been having recently on the proposals to move towards economic electricity tariffs.”

These debates had raised some critical issues regarding the country’s model of service provision and consumption.

However, there was a growing sense in governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations of the need to work together towards climate change.

“We all need to bring our collective creative energies and put in place strategies and plans that will take our cities and our country forward to a sustainable future. Allow me to leave you with that challenge. It requires all of us who work in local government to keep the South African developmental ship moving forward through troubled waters.”

Johannesburg is hosting the first climate change summit involving local government, on 2 and 3 June. The gathering precedes World Environment Day, which is usually celebrated on 5 June.

The theme for Johannesburg's summit is All hands on deck: towards a low carbon economy, which ties in with the World Environment Day theme for this year, Kick the habit! Towards a low carbon economy.

Most of South Africa's 283 municipalities are taking the opportunity to thrash out policy and strategy solutions on this increasingly hot topic.

The host of World Environment Day 2008 is New Zealand. The initiative of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), in the past the day has touched on issues such as the state of the world's oceans and the melting ice cap. Since the early 1970s, the UNEP has worked to change people's attitude towards the Earth, with catchy themes such as Wanted! Seas and oceans - dead or alive; and Water - two billion people are dying for it.

Source: BuffaloCity.gov.za