The manifestos of the ANC, DA and EFF abjectly fail to grasp the seriousness of the climate emergency. Because of this, none of them proposes the kind of policies and transformations urged by the United Nations so that we can live within safe planetary boundaries.

Addressing last year's United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties (COP28), United Nations secretary-general António Guterres stated that "Earth's vital signs are failing" and that because of this "humanity's fate hangs in the balance".

Drawing attention to "record emissions, ferocious fires, deadly droughts and the hottest year ever", he lamented that current climate policies "would lead to an Earth-scorching three-degree temperature rise".

Focusing on the question of climate justice, Guterres stated:"Developing countries are being devastated by disasters they did not cause."

As a "developing country" which is already experiencing the severe impacts of climate change in the form of droughts and deadly floods, it is worth examining the climate policies of the major political parties in South Africa as we approach the upcoming election.

Within the context of global climate collapse and the need to pursue just climate policies, what exactly are we being promised in the manifestos of the three largest political parties, which account for nearly 90% of seats in the current Parliament?

The ANC's manifesto appears to take the issue of climate change seriously. It mentions "climate change" seven times and asserts that the party will "work with other countries in the fight against...