Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy. (Photo by Ruvan Boshoff/Sunday Times/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
South Africa has not finalised the composition of the delegation that it will be sending to the UN climate talks in Egypt in early November, said forestry, fisheries and environment Minister Barbara Creecy.
Her reply was in response to parliamentary questions by Dave Bryant, the head of environment, forestry and fisheries in the opposition DA. “The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment is working with other government departments and parliament to obtain the names of the officials who will be approved.”
Bryant had asked Creecy whether she found that adequate progress was being made on the implementation of the $8.5-billion commitment from the developed world to assist South Africa with the shift away from coal-based energy, which was made at COP26.
He also wanted to know how this is being aligned with “recent moves towards reverting back to coal-based energy in some developed countries in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
Creecy mentioned that a local task team was being set up for negotiations and that they were underway.
The Just Energy Transition Partnership
In response, Creecy explained the goal of the political declaration between South Africa and the International Partnership Group (IPG) comprising France, Germany, the UK, the US and the EUn.
“It was aimed at establishing an ambitious long-term partnership to support South Africa’s pathway to low emissions and climate resilient development, accelerate the just transition, and develop new opportunities to support South Africa’s shift towards a low-carbon future.”
Creecy said that the plan was, with an investment framework, for the IPG to mobilise an initial $8.5-billion over three to five years to support the achievement of the country’s low carbon future in line “with the most ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) scenario possible”. NDCs are a country’s climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.
“The partnership is in no way related to or impacted by recent global political development and challenges,” Creecy said.
A local task team
Referring to the progress on the JETP, she said an inter-ministerial committee has been established, led by the minister in the presidency and including the ministers of finance, public enterprises, mineral resources and energy, forestry, fisheries and the environment, international relations, trade, industry and competition, and supported by the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team under the leadership of Daniel Mminele.
“The task team is guiding the development of a JETP investment plan and is currently undertaking consultations with the IPG, as well as national stakeholders, while the national treasury has been studying the terms of financing from the various partners.”
The investment plan, Creecy said, sets out the scale of need and the investments required to enable the decarbonisation and climate resilient development contributions specified by South Africa in its “ambitious” NDC submitted ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November last year, and South Africa’s Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy. It was submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2020.
Upon conclusion of the consultation, the JEPT investment plan will be recommended by the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team for approval by cabinet and endorsement by the IPG, she said.
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