SCORE: C

It’s still early days for Dion George, who candidly admitted ahead of the United Nations COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, that he had never heard of the Conference of Parties before he assumed office in July. Hard-working, energetic and pragmatic, with a strong background in finance and economics, George is a self-proclaimed “newbie” on environmental issues. Still, he has thrown himself into his new job, one he has described as being “handed the keys to a department at the heart of South Africa’s green revolution”. With the ascent of the landmark Climate Change Act into law, George and his department face the challenge of its effective implementation across all three spheres of government. Progress has been made, including developing a detailed timeline for its roll-out and implementation.