The partnership announced between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, SANParks and TotalEnergies makes a mockery of efforts to fight climate change by giving one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases a chance to seem to be supporting conservation.

Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that the climate crisis has already disrupted marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, caused the first climate-driven extinctions, increased disease and mass mortality events of plants and animals, and negatively impacted ecosystem services, livelihoods and cultural practices. It is thus incomprehensible that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and South African National Parks (SANParks) have announced a partnership with climate-wrecking company TotalEnergies, one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

The company has been revealed as one of SANParks main sponsors for its yearly SANParks Week campaign, which aims to open up South African parks to citizens who can't usually afford the entrance fees, boost local tourism and encourage citizens to experience the country's natural wonders.

In the context of a history of exclusion and dispossession at our national parks, SANParks Week is an encouraging campaign to promote democratic access to our national heritage, increase local tourism and raise awareness for conservation initiatives. However, the campaign's focus on South Africa's rich biodiversity and beauty make it all the more ironic that one of its main sponsors is a company whose business practices cause irreparable climate...