GREENPEACE AFRICA:

WHO WE ARE

Greenpeace Africa is an independent environmental campaigning organisation with a vision of “an Africa where people live in harmony with nature in a peaceful state of environmental and social justice”. Our mission is to work with others to foster environmental consciousness where Africa’s people can seek social and economic prosperity in ways that protect the environment.

In South Africa, we campaign for a transition away from coal and nuclear power, towards renewable energy and energy efficiency. As a civil society organisation, we work towards the achievement of environmental and social rights, and environmental and energy justice in communities across South Africa. We strive for the realisation of the constitutional environmental right. We believe that climate change is an existential crisis and that urgent action is required.

South Africa is the biggest emitter on the continent and one of the biggest emitters in the world. Nonetheless, we are in a position to lead the way to a clean energy future, but only if the government acts swiftly to remove the barriers to renewable energy. With new leadership in place, South Africa has the opportunity to become a credible climate leader by creating a powerful combination of strong leadership, progressive thinking and forward-looking policies.

WATER IS LIFE

South Africa is a dangerously water-scarce country, currently facing a mega water crisis over three provinces that has been declared a national disaster. South Africa’s mean annual precipitation is 50% lower than the global average, and water scarcity is an ongoing significant challenge that climate change is likely to worsen. This is not a problem that is going away.

Climate change is a threat multiplier because it makes existing vulnerabilities worse. Scientists have predicted that Africa is likely to experience significantly higher temperatures, rising sea levels, changing rainfall patterns and extreme weather, which is likely to impact on food security and drive diseases, while displacing millions of people.

SOCIAL JUSTICE MEANS PUTTING PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO WATER FIRST

The water crisis has exposed a layer of stark inequality in South Africa: the unequal access to water of mega water users in comparison to people.

While South Africans struggle with complex water access issues, mega water guzzlers have undisputed access to highquality water. An estimated two-thirds of South Africa’s water goes towards irrigation for agriculture. Mega water users

can use mind-boggling amounts of water. South Africa’s coalbased energy sector consumes more water per second than the global average.

Greenpeace believes that the 2002 UNESCO General Comment that “the human right to water is … a prerequisite for the realisation of other rights” goes to the heart of the matter. The Water Research Commission points out that “the Constitution of South Africa has placed a legal obligation on the government to realise people’s right to sufficient water”. If water is fundamental to human life, then the injustice in how water is distributed in the country becomes clear.

The truth is that although we have recognised water as a human right, 14% of South Africans do not have access at all. Millions of South Africans live with Day Zero every day. And while there has been an almost unending list of government plans and strategies around water, there has been a complete failure to put water at the centre of decision-making.

To avoid Day Zero becoming the new normal in South

Africa, every decision to spend money by every government department needs to account for water and to prioritise the realisation of water as a fundamental human right. Government departments must take decisions that enhance basic human rights, particularly access to water by ordinary South Africans.

The bottom line is that water is life. We cannot live without it and we must make sure that people’s right to water is put first and protected.

CONTACT DETAILS

Address: 293 Kent Avenue, Randburg, Johannesburg

Telephone: +27 11 482 4696 Email: Happy.Khambule@greenpeace.org