Take action against climate change
SA has seen its fair share of climate change exacerbated rainfalls which have caused devastating flooding, droughts and the severe change in temperatures.
We have noticed floods in Komani, East London and other parts of the Eastern Cape, while Durban was hard hit by heavy rains and catastrophic floods killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands.
According to a new analysis by the research consortium World Weather Attribution, the likelihood of an event this severe happening has more than doubled because of global warming. The amount of rainfall in this case was also 4% to 8% more intense than it would have been without the influence of climate change.
Climate change has a significant growing impact in Southern Africa and is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. It contributes to food insecurity, displacing populations, water resources are becoming scarce due to rainfall variability and droughts.
Covid-19 has also exacerbated the matter in some contexts.
Scientists say climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels which generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.
These come from using fuel for driving a car or coal, deforestation and agriculture.
According to the UN, rising global temperatures causes sea levels to rise, increases the number of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms, and increases the spread of diseases. All these have costly impacts on cities’ basic services. At the same time, cities are key contributors to climate change, as sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Estimates suggest that cities are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions, with transport and buildings being among the largest contributors.
Cities around the world have grouped themselves to play a role in the fight against fossil fuels and they have formed an organisation called C40 which is a global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities to confront the climate crisis.
They have committed to using an inclusive, science-based and collaborative approach to cut their fair share of emissions in half by 2030, help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C, and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities.
C40 mayors do this by, among other actions:
Building equitable and thriving communities.
Building a global movement through international advocacy and diplomacy.
Scaling up climate action and sharing best practices across high-impact sectors.
Facilitating access to finance for investment in green jobs and projects that improve resilience in cities.
They have been at the forefront of climate leadership for more than 15 years, driving the conversation around climate action and environmental justice to place these issues on the international agenda.
Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Durban are among the cities involved.
What are our municipalities doing to come up with mitigation and adaptations strategies? Are there any plans or policies in place to help us survive the catastrophic weather patterns and disasters induced by climate change?
In Komani, we were shocked when the floods hit parts of the town and exposed how unprepared we were for disasters.
The same happened in East London, Durban and parts of the former Transkei.
Our politicians and administrators need to start debate on how our small towns can survive more climate change induced disasters and come up with strategies.
We are contributing negatively to climate change by polluting our rivers, deforestation and not managing our dumpsites, which continue burning without any supervision.
The youth needs to stand up as our politicians have no plans of stopping burning fossil fuels. The ANC has made it clear that it has no plans of stopping the use of coal to generate its electricity, and also there plans to drill for oil around the coastline of the country. This is despite the extinction of some marine animals and now recently the decline in the African penguins.
Sea temperatures are rising and the ocean is becoming more acidic. Things are getting worse and people need to take actions and making their voices heard.