Mr Speaker, I think that the only thing the chairperson of our portfolio committee omitted in her report was to say that in the absence of the hon Komphela we were able to play host to 2010 and we sang Shosholoza.
To worry about painting a house when a mighty boulder on the peak is just about to take a tumble in its direction, is to confuse one's priorities horribly. That is precisely what is happening with us. We are arguing about clinging to untenable technologies to preserve our ailing economy. Yet we are about to lose our very climate, our biodiversity, our natural capital, our low-lying coastal regions, our agriculture and our future. The rock is about to tumble.
Global warming, through the emission of greenhouse gases, is acidifying our oceans. The livelihood of our fishermen is at stake. Fish on our tables might be a thing of the past. Scientists have been projecting that within 20 to 50 years the western parts of South Africa will become progressively drier. It is already happening now. Drought in parts of the Western and Eastern Cape has been intensifying for the past few years.
However, what we are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg. We will experience prolonged and more damaging droughts in the western parts of South Africa with greater regularity. Life, as we know it, is about to change in a terrible way.
So too is the landscape. The deserts in South Africa are annually encroaching onto our arable land at an alarming rate. It will come as a shock to our nation to know that the United Nations Environment Programme classifies more than 90% of South Africa as arid, semi-arid or sub humid. That leaves us with only 10% of our territory for major economic activity. And we are even stressing that small portion of our common inheritance. It's a shame.
Equally alarming is a report by South Africa's National Botanical Institute suggesting that land in 25% of all magisterial districts in South Africa is already severely degraded. Tiny climatic changes in such areas will cause the total collapse of agriculture. As the increasing desertification continues, it will reduce the ability of such land to support life, human beings, wild species, flora, domestic animals, and agricultural crops. It is crunch time. If our biodiversity suffers, and our biodiversity is worth billions, our present and future prosperity will be imperilled.
To have a successful economy a country has to have natural resources, its natural capital. The greatest resource in this period of climate change is water, yet water in our country is wasted. Water is polluted. Water is overused. Sadly, many agricultural, industrial and commercial concerns are simply not bothering to implement environmentally sustainable strategies. Yet, as everyone knows, ecology is everything. Ecology, however, is very fragile. To destroy ecology requires neither knowledge, nor time, nor effort. Once destroyed, it is difficult to re-engineer.
In a survey conducted by Terra Nova Research, more than 40% of the 200 companies surveyed in South Africa did not have any plans to incorporate ways to measure their impact on the environment. Our entire economy is in jeopardy because this government is not giving centrality to climate change in our economy. Climate change is not peripheral to economic planning. It is pivotal.
Cope is very clear about what needs to be done. Cope recognises that water is the basis of life and of all activities. We also recognise that climate change is already here. We would, therefore, as part of the activist state that we are, promote, support and develop desalination plants all along our shorelines.
As Cope, we will make the use of solar geysers mandatory throughout South Africa. Poor households, however, will be assisted with solar geysers. A million solar geysers, at a cost of about R20 billion, would help to do away with a new coal burning power station costing R40 billion or more. This can be done immediately. Besides, each household will be able to slash 50% of its electricity bill. Heads or tails, the consumer wins.
Another priority will be to give considerable support for the Joule, the new all South African electrical car. Cope will also immediately standardise battery packs so that it will be possible for manufacturers to achieve cost-effective volume production of standard packs. If the cost of battery packs comes down through volume, so will the cost of the car. This is critical. Maybe one of the things we need to do is to encourage lift clubs so that we can minimise the number of cars emitting gas on the roads. This requires no more than political will.
Also, one of our priorities will be to invigorate the production of photovoltaic systems. This can be done through achieving economies of scale and the use of manufacturing infrastructure that is already in place. Bringing down the price of photovoltaic systems will be a great boost to our economy seeing that we have so much solar radiation in our country. The only inhibiting factor is the cost. Achieving economies of scale will alter that scenario instantly and induce more people to go the photovoltaic route.
Another priority will be to press ahead with wind turbines. Tardy members of our government may be interested to know that 365 wind turbines are in the process of being installed. [Time expired.]