President Cyril Ramaphosa says with the effects of climate change worsening, as seen in the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, government is seeking more ways to make both the economy and country more climate resilient.
The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter.
The Western Cape has been battered by destructive floods over the past week, which have left thousands homeless.
In 2022, Kwa-Zulu Natal faced the heaviest rains in some 50 years, leaving at least 300 people dead and causing damage to homes, business and other infrastructure.
"Beyond the cost to human health, safety and livelihoods, climate change is very much an economic issue. Agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing are just some of the areas of economic activity that could be adversely affected by climate change. Then there are the equally dire effects on water security, food security, public infrastructure, human settlements, health care and education.
"The increasing frequency of disasters has an impact on public finances. On the one hand, disasters affect economic growth and lower tax revenues. On the other hand, they require increased expenditure on disaster relief, health care and other forms of social support for affected communities," the President said.
The President said the Climate Resilience Symposium held today is a critical meeting of minds to discuss the country's climate actions.
"This critical seminar brings together representatives from government, industry, academia, civil society as well as climate experts and development partners to discuss how to scale up climate action across the economy and society. South Africa is undertaking a range of policies and programmes to both adapt to climate change and to mitigate its impact.
"We embarked, for example, on the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. This has been a success, attracting over R209 billion in investment and adding much-needed capacity to our electricity grid.
"The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan sets out a plan that will drive huge investments in the electricity grid, green hydrogen, electric vehicles, economic diversification and skills development. We continue to explore opportunities to meet our emissions reduction targets in industries like mining, green hydrogen production and electric vehicle manufacturing," President Ramaphosa said.
Decarbonisation
The President noted that the South African economy's carbon intensity has become "unsustainable" but added that building the economy's resilience must be "informed by both national and global realities".
"The first reality is that the carbon intensity of our economy has become unsustainable. The world is moving towards greener economies. These include a number of our major trading partners, who are taking measures to decarbonise that will in the long run affect the competitiveness of South Africa's exports to these markets.
"Secondly, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement to Combat Climate Change, we have an obligation to reduce emissions and make a fair contribution to the global climate change effort.
"Thirdly, low-carbon development is necessary if we are to successfully adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and build resilient communities," he said.
Over the past years, the South African government has reiterated that the country will decarbonisation at a pace and scale that it can afford.
Noting this, President Ramaphosa warned that increasing frequency of extreme weather events "is a stark reminder that we have to accelerate the pace of our efforts".
"We need to use our fiscal policy - how we manage public finances - to support our response to the shocks of climate change and to advance the just transition to a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy.
"We need to work with social partners and development institutions to marshal investment into green economy initiatives and secure finance for local adaptation and mitigation efforts. We need to raise funds to support industrial policy that facilitates the just energy transition," the President noted.
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Supporting decarbonisation
Turning to the issue of the funding of decarbonisation efforts, the President insisted that first world countries - who are historically more responsible for climate change - must support the efforts of developing economies to meet their climate goals.
"It is essential that countries with developed economies fulfil their financial commitments to support the climate actions of countries that are most affected, including making funds available for the loss and damage that these countries experience due to climate change.
"Through this symposium and through the ongoing collaboration across society and with international partners, we are strengthening the effort to make our economy and society more climate resilient. In doing so, we are enabling our country to respond more effectively to the challenge of climate change and better weather the storms to come," the President said.
