It is that time again when we briefly share the many but fruitful activities we have participated in as the P&R team over the past couple of months.
As the Policy & Research (P&R) team, we try to facilitate discussions around transparent climate actions necessary for a low-carbon world, but we also enjoy being part of other facilitated discussions around climate and energy.
In January the team made a formal presentation (coupled with a written submission) to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) on the Eskom Regulatory Clearing Account. Essentially our national electricity utility wanted to increase tariffs for 2016/2017 by 17%, which is double the NERSA granted 8%. From our perspective as the P&R team, having tariffs that reflect the true state of affairs is necessary in a transition to a low-carbon society, thus the submission was based on interpreting the tariff methodology in a way that reflects South African society and the current prevailing economic conditions without underestimating the urgency for ambitious climate action.
In February, the P&R team attended an African Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) discussion forum that was hosted by Bread for the World and German Watch in Germany. The meeting was meant to kick-off the discussion around renewable energy opportunities in Africa. The joint statement from African civil society from the AREI which will be presented at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Cairo, Egypt this month.
The AREI forum preceded the Climate Action Network International meeting in Berlin that was also hosted by Bread for the World, which a P&R team member also attended. The meeting aimed to provide a platform for civil society organisations to form a strategy in the post-Paris era once the Paris Agreement is signed.
In March the P&R team focused on distilling various comments and perceptions on the Paris Agreement into something more comprehensible and specific. March was also a month of COP21 debriefs. The P&R team hosted two debrief sessions, one in Johannesburg and the other in Cape Town. The aim was to build a common understanding of the outcomes of COP21 and to communicate that shared understanding to other civil society organisations.
The team also attended a number of COP21 meetings organised by other organisations such as the South African Institute of International Affairs, the African Climate and Development Initiative and the Climate Change Coalition hosted by the City of Cape Town.
To top it off, March was the first convening of the National Climate Change Committee in a year. The main theme of the meeting was to ascertain what happens next post COP21. Just to put the icing on the cake, those that attended the meeting gathered first-hand information on what mitigation and adaptation measures will be of priority for South Africa in the short to medium term. Given that the long term aim of South Africa’s climate response is still lacking concrete direction, it would be prudent for South Africa to base its transition to a low-carbon economy on a legislative tool, maybe a climate act of some sought.
While many may think that COP21 has ended the climate change debate, we are now witnessing a paradigm shift on local, regional and global levels to translate the debate into concrete and ambitious actions. We have all the resources to tackle the problem. The only thing missing is a coordinated, coherent and transparent approach.
