President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that the current adverse weather conditions, have a negative impact on the country’s economy.
His comments come after storms hit parts KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape over the past week, causing devastation to homes, communities, businesses and infrastructure.
The Port of Cape Town has the country’s second largest container terminal.
“These adverse weather conditions temporarily brought container ship traffic to a complete halt at the Port of Cape Town.
Rough seas resulted in cargo vessels losing containers overboard and others being extensively damaged.
Having perishable agricultural products stuck in the port or in transit for an extended period results in financial losses for exporters.
This in turn impacts the agricultural sector, and given its importance to our economy, there is a knock-on effect on the economy as a whole,” said Ramaphosa, who was delivering a keynote address at the Climate Resilience Symposium in Pretoria.
The symposium is being hosted by National Treasury, the Presidential Climate Commission, the World Bank and a range of partner organisations.
The objectives of the three-day symposium are to integrate climate goals into macro-fiscal and finance policy, improve government coordination by mainstreaming climate change considerations into the intergovernmental fiscal system.
The President added that the climate changes is as much an economic issue as it is a scientific, social justice, human rights and development issue.
He said the extreme weather causes damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges, railways, power lines and ports, all of which incur substantial repair and recovery costs.
He bemoaned that it is mostly poor countries that bore the brunt of climate change, because they have limited means to prepare for, cope with, and recover from, climate-related adverse events.
“Just as it is the countries of the Global South that feel the effects of climate change most, despite being least responsible historically for global emissions.
It is critical that we strengthen systems for adaptation and mitigation, build resilience in communities and accelerate our decarbonisation efforts and the pace of the just energy transition.
The reality we must confront is that the carbon-intensity of our economy is unsustainable,” highlighted the President.
Ramaphosa cautioned that for decades, the country’s reliance on coal was a competitive advantage because it allowed us to produce electricity cheaply, but the “world has changed, and this dependency has come to pose significant risks.”
He said the country’s emissions-intensive energy system is likely to increasingly undermine our competitiveness in global markets.
Despite this, Ramaphosa highlighted that the country will decarbonise at a pace and scale that is affordable to our economy and society.
“If we act too fast, we risk damaging huge sections of our economy before we have built alternative energy and industrial capabilities.
At the same time, not acting now risks our economic stability.
We must embrace a managed transition to a low-carbon economy, not only to safeguard our people and our environment, but to ensure our economic resilience and growth.
We are facing a climate emergency,” warned Ramaphosa.
The President added that the country must act decisively and swiftly to mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure a just transition for all South Africans.
Ramaphosa said the country aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
“Our revised Nationally Determined Contribution balances our developmental needs and economic realities.
It takes into account the feasibility of undertaking a climate response through a set of just transition pathways.
Importantly, it notes carbon tax as a vital component of our mitigation strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
By internalising the cost of carbon emissions, the carbon tax incentivises companies to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in cleaner technologies,” explained Ramaphosa.
