Chairperson before I start with my very short speech, I would like to tell the Minister that she has put South Africa on the map. We have just arrived as a joint portfolio committee from three countries: Washington, Copenhagen and Swaziland. In all these countries, we were told that you are one of the best negotiators in Africa. [Applause.]
Climate change is a major threat to sustainable growth and development in Africa and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. Therefore urgent action is needed. Although Africa is the continent least responsible for climate change, it is particularly vulnerable to the effects, including reduced agricultural production, worsening food insecurity, the increased incidence of both flooding and drought, spreading diseases, and an increased risk of conflict over scarce land and water resources.
Sis Pam, i-climate change ke kukujika-jika kwemozulu xa kumana kubakho iimvula, izikhukula iinkanyamba phaya eMpumakoloni nalapha eNtshona Koloni, kunjalo nje iNtshona Koloni iza kuba lixhoba lezo zikhukula kwixesha elizayo. Yiclimate change ke leyo mhlobo wam. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [Sis Pam, climate change is a change in weather patterns, such as rainfall, floods, tornados which occur in the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. The Western Cape will be a victim of those floods in future. That is climate change, my friend.]
More efforts will be needed to work out the costs of the impact of climate change and to inform and sensitise domestic audiences. Support from development partners is needed to assist Africa to cope with these effects. Action on a broader range of issues is also needed by the wider international community, by multilateral, bilateral development agencies and by African governments themselves.
Although South Africa is not an Annex 1 country, that is ... ... into ethetha ukuthi ...[which means ...]
... we are not legally required to commit to emissions reduction under the Kyoto Protocol, it acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in June 2001.
South Africa's noble intention to mitigate climate change derives from its unique position in the climate change regime. For example, South Africa is Africa's greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, as it depends on coal for power production, despite the fact that emissions from the African continent are low and expected to remain so in the immediate future. South Africa's high emission profile on the African continent is attributable to the overall large size of its economy as well as the coal dependency of its energy economy. South Africa is the most industrialised country in Africa.
Baza kusinceda nabo batshaya kakhulu babengathi batshaya kancinci ukuze sincedisane. Amalahle la siwasebenzisa kakhulu necuba nalo silithathe kancinci kuba kaloku umsi nawo uyasenzakalisa. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[The chain smokers will also help us by reducing their rate of smoking. Our coal and tobacco usage must be reduced because the smoke endangers us.]
To this end, the ANC's position on environmental issues is reflected in the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP. It is this vision that has informed the various policies, programmes and actions of the ANC-led government since 1994.
During the apartheid years, the vast majority of our people bore the brunt of poor sanitation, were located in the areas where the most polluting industries existed, and were denied the basic right to defend themselves against harmful activities. The ANC's vision has, therefore, sought to embrace a transformative environmentalism based on the ideas of sustainable development, which is built on the interconnection of environmental, social and economic justice. In this regard, and acting in concert with governments, international bodies, Pan-African structures and international environmental bodies, the ANC has played a leading role in shaping global debates. This has been through our - albeit limited - participation in the Rio Earth Summit, followed by our country's hosting of the momentous World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
At these historic forums, the ANC has consistently championed a progressive response to the environmental dimensions of development, particularly climate change, facing Africa and the countries of the South.
There will be massive socioeconomic consequences that will impact greatly on Africa. These include increased poverty, diseases, water scarcity, food insecurity and agricultural losses. Hon Phumzile Bhengu will mention the impact on the poorest of the poor, especially women in rural areas.
Significantly, there is now general scientific agreement that the African continent has, in recent years, been showing all the signs of climate change. These are increasing frequency of floods, the rise in sea levels, increasing frequency of droughts, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and irregular frequency and severity of climatic conditions.
Many African regions and countries will, therefore, lack the capacity to generate effective adaptive responses to changes that climate change will bring. In South Africa itself, the impacts of climate change are predicted to include a reduction in rainfall and an increase in droughts on the western side of the country.
It is, therefore, critical that the SA government and Parliament - as Parliament also has a role to play in this regard - factor these aspects into their planning. The key elements of future international frameworks should include initiatives on emissions trading, technology co-operation, actions to reduce deforestation and adapt to climate change.
Co-operation between and amongst SADC countries include, among others: renewable energy resources, information and communication technology, transport and fisheries and the fight against HIV/Aids and malaria.
There are a number of protocols in the region that can guide the development of African positions on Africa's problems. African countries' heads of state can begin to use existing mechanisms to deepen and enhance its adaptation and mitigation strategies in the region.
While South Africa contributes to climate change, its historical contributions are minimal compared to those of developed countries. South Africa needs to provide hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure and social development to its previously disadvantaged communities.
The role of legislatures is critical, as was stipulated in the December 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, in that international agreements are the base documents that define national policies and pieces of domestic legislation. South Africa is fortunate in that, unlike other countries on the continent, the committee has a good communication relationship with its Ministries. This then allows the legislatures to make inputs and undertake oversight over the relevant treaties and conventions that will guide committees' work on climate change.
The reason for us coming up with this statement is because, when we visited some of these countries, we discovered that most of their members of parliament don't have a clue about the agreements that exist between their and other countries because of the lack of communication between their ministries and parliament. In some instances they would claim that their country is not part of something. However, when one does some research and retrieves the minutes of those agreements, one discovers that that specific country is part of the agreements. It would seem that their parliament is not aware of those agreements because of lack of communication between the ministries and the parliamentarians. Therefore, parliaments have an important role to play in enacting sound legislation that can protect the environment, lead to the attainment of sustainable food security and reduce poverty.
As I have said to hon Frolick, these are some of the proposals which we, as Members of this Parliament, drafted: Firstly, parliamentarians must ensure the strengthening of government institutions through better integration of legislation and policies to build long-term adaptive capacity and resilience against food shortages. This should include the mainstreaming of climate change into all government departments that contribute to or are impacted on by climate change.
Secondly, we must ensure that climate change considerations inform all policy decision-making across government. Thirdly, we must ensure that disaster management mechanisms are fully operational. Lastly, parliamentarians should play an information and advocacy role on climate change issues within their own legislatures. The SA Parliament has, to date, made inputs into national pieces of environmental and energy legislation, but international agreements need further engagement by our Parliament.
Whilst Copenhagen negotiations by South Africa are quite advanced in terms of growth without limits scenarios and are required by science scenarios, there is still a need for legislatures to play a role in this process. For legislatures, the importance of assessing the outcome of the deal in Copenhagen and making recommendations in undertaking oversight over the new deal is critical. Like the parliament of the United Kingdom with the promulgation of the Climate Change Act, one needs to begin to look at legislatures' role in providing information to government on mitigation and sustainable development.
On 7 September the portfolio committee held a video conference with the parliament of the UK regarding issues of climate change, in order to learn from other countries on how to deal with issues of climate change in a country.
As representatives of the citizenry and through their oversight functions and constituency offices, parliaments are in a better position to identify and respond to societal needs. Parliamentarians are also responsible for holding the executive and government to account by overseeing their work and ensuring that they do not infringe on the rights of citizens and waste state resources. The oversight work also affords parliamentarians an opportunity to make informed decisions on issues of national importance.
As Parliament, we are responsible for approving the national budget and, therefore, have a major say in how state resources are allocated. This gives Parliament the authority to ensure that substantial resources are allocated to the sectors that are of importance and of relevance.
Through their involvement in the budgetary process, parliamentarians must advocate for an increase in government funding for research on and implementation of adaptation and mitigation studies. They must ensure that Parliament allocates more resources to public education and awareness at all levels, and integrate environmental education across government departments.
They must explore the use of innovative mechanisms to increase funding for adaptation and mitigation at the national level. They must encourage development partners to ensure that their development assistance does not create negative environmental impacts. In addition, development assistance programmes should be reformed to support mitigation, disaster risk reduction, and adaptation measures.
From theory to practice, the following initiatives are guiding the work of the lead portfolio committee, the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs, to devise a 5-year plan which will incorporate the following aspects relating to climate change: The portfolio committee will set up a multi-party, inter-sectoral committee on climate change and sustainable development in the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa; it will undertake public hearings, debates, seminars, set up video conferences like the one I have just mentioned; it will hold joint public hearings with other select and portfolio committees.
These public hearings are going to be held in South Africa on 17 to 18 November 2009, and we have invited university students who are specialists on issues of climate change to come and participate in these hearings; and a mini conference will be held on 16 to 17 February 2010 to address the outcome of the December 2009 Copenhagen negotiations.
The portfolio committee is to have a dialogue with the relevant select and portfolio committees on the formation of the committee on climate change and sustainable development, in order to forge a programme from these discussions. We have learnt that, in most countries, there is a unit or a commission or a select committee - call it what you will - that exists in their parliaments which deals specifically with issues of climate change and energy. I think we just need to sit down and plan the composition of the committee or unit that we would like to have in our Parliament.
In conclusion, I believe that this Parliament will have a delegation of all committees that are affected, starting from environment, agriculture, science and technology, through to energy. Actually, every committee has a role to play in issues of climate change, right up to the committees on health and social development. Every one of them has a responsibility when it comes to issues of climate change.
Then, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Speaker who delivered a keynote address at Copenhagen in which he committed South Africa to leading Africa. [Time expired.] Thank you. [Applause.]