During his 2024 Sona, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new Climate Change Response Fund which will help pay for infrastructure to make SA more climate resilient.

A just transition is on the horizon for South Africa, claimed President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address last week as he announced the new Climate Change Response Fund.

The fund is a collaborative effort between the government and private sector to combat the increasingly devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

"In recent years, the country has had to confront the effects of climate change. We have had devastating wildfires in the Western Cape, destructive floods in KwaZulu-Natal, unbearable heat waves in the Northern Cape, persistent drought in the Eastern Cape and intense storms in Gauteng," said Ramaphosa.

This year, the Western Cape has been hit by fires and KwaZulu-Natal continues to grapple with destructive floods.

Financing to deal with the consequences of these climate-related events has been an ongoing issue on the global stage, as developing countries - many in Africa - sought to establish the United Nations Loss and Damage Fund.

Climate Change Response Fund

With the UN fund only expected to be operationalised in the second quarter of 2025, South Africa will launch its own Climate Change Response Fund which will provide additional financing amid increasing competition for money to compensate for...