Climate Change: Department briefing
Tourism
07 August 2007
Meeting Summary
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Meeting report
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
7 August 2007
CLIMATE CHANGE: DEPARTMENT BRIEFING
Chairperson: Mr L Zita (ANC)
Documents handed out:
Department PowerPoint presentation Part1, Part2, Part3, Part4, Part5 & Part6
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Audio recording of the meeting
SUMMARY
The Committee was impressed with the Department’s presentation which gave a detailed account of climate change in a South African context, as well as the international negotiations around emission reduction. Members touched on a number of issues in the discussion that followed. These included carbon trading, carbon capturing and storage, the relationship between the trade negotiations and issues of climate change, adaptation strategies, the need for an African negotiation platform, the progress as far as the Clean Development Mechanism, the impact that developments such as golfing estates had on the environment, clean technologies as well as the possibility of a technology fund that would make clean technologies more accessible to developing countries.
The Department made clear that there was a need to promote and develop strategies of adaptation to climate change and not only focus on how to prevent it. Using cleaner and clean technologies now would greatly reduce the negative consequences that might only be felt decades from now. For the Department, key issues included: affordability of clear technologies, the implementation of adaptation strategies, “climate proofing” infrastructure and community investments, technology transfer as well as financial and technological support, knowledge and access to information.
MINUTES
Chairperson’s opening remarks
The Chairperson said that the misguided belief that climate change was nothing but an invention by “some scientists” had caught up with everyone including those “in the White House”. Everyone now accepted that climate change was an important issue and one that humanity had to grapple with. A meeting convened by the
Department presentation
Ms Joanne Yawitch, Deputy Director General (DDG), Environmental Quality and Protection and Ms Judy Beaumont, senior policy advisor for climate change, represented the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). She noted the presence of a South African Weather Services delegation at the meeting.
Ms Yawitch thought it important to explain the context in which
The South African government managed the work on climate change through a number of clusters. These included an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on climate change, supported by a body of senior officials who did the preparatory work as well as, very importantly, a National Committee on Climate Change (NCCC), which was an inter-sectoral forum.
All Cabinet decisions on climate change were first processed through the IMC. The NCCC was the most significant body in the efforts to address climate change in
Ms Beaumont made the presentation, which gave a detailed account of the DEAT’s approach to addressing climate change in
Discussion
Ms J Chalmers (ANC) was sure that Members would benefit from the presentation which she thought was clear, informative and instructive. She noted that there were a few aspects that had not been touched on much in the presentation. The presentation had for instance not really spoken of carbon trading when it touched on matters of mitigation and adaptation. She asked if carbon trading was really a mitigating factor and not simply a way for developed nations to pay their way while still continuing to emit as much greenhouse gases as they always had. She wondered if it was something the Committee ought to be concerned about and sought more clarity on this matter of which the Minister van Schalkwyk had spoken “quite positively”.
Mr A Mokoena (ANC) said that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was gradually disappearing from public awareness and sought more information as to its viability.
Ms Yawitch agreed that a philosophical debate about the merits of the CDM could be had. She explained that the CDM set up a carbon trading system that could be interpreted as allowing developed countries to carry on polluting and that resources went into developing countries where greenhouse gas emissions were not so high.
The DEAT’s problem with the CDM related to the difficulty
Ms Chalmers, stating that growth and development should happen in an “emission-conscious” manner that would not result in regret later, was very concerned about the sprouting of various developments such as golf estates across
Ms Yawitch said that as the presentation indicated it was necessary to consider the long-term impact of the technology choices we made now. There was already a high concentration of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere and that presence already had a negative impact. One had to deal with what had already happened as well as with what could potentially happen in the future. It was of critical importance to consider the impact actions taken in the present would have 20 to 50 years later. This was part of the reason why measures to address climate change often had very long time frames.
Issues of low carbon technology, renewable energy sources and clean technology were key to
Mr G Morgan (DA) agreed that the presentation was good and appreciated the fact that it considered national, local and personal efforts to address issues of climate change. He was aware that the DEAT considered the effects climate change had on poverty reduction but was surprised that that was not articulated in the presentation. He suggested that when talking to policy makers, the link between climate change and poverty alleviation be raised. Water availability, extreme weather events etc could undermine the strides
Ms Yawitch thought the comment important. Variability, extreme weather events, changes in agriculture and climate disasters could have a devastating effect on livelihoods. The Rooibos farmers in a Clanwilliam community project were finding that they had to change their methods to cope with the changing climate. She emphasised that one had to make sure that community based agriculture as well as infrastructure investments were not jeopardised. One had to respond to all issues around poverty and development and had to ensure that investments were “climate proofed”. Such efforts were already being made in the
Mr Morgan thought the quote by President Mbeki was a fitting end to the presentation and he said that he would like to see that climate change was mentioned in the next State of the Nation address. All the relevant ministers would then have to make their voices heard on the matter too. He would also like to see that a greater number of Ministers taking part in climate change awareness raising campaigns even before policies around the issue were revealed.
Mr Morgan said that technology transfer was important to developing countries and that the Annex 1 countries and
Ms Yawitch agreed that useful technologies existed in the in the western world and that they had patents that were very expensive. A way had to be found to ensure the dissemination of technologies across the world. Affordability was a major challenge.
Mr Morgan noted that the presentation outlined a two-track process leading up to 2012 and after. He knew that due to the historical responsibility developed countries shared for climate change
Ms Yawitch explained that it was believed that developing countries should do what was appropriate for them - this may or may not include taking on binding targets. Much of the work DEAT was doing at this point in time was aimed at determining what
Mr Mokoena wondered where DEAT had sourced the information reflected in the presentation. He suggested that the sources should enjoy global authority so that Members were not confused by conflicting reports.
Ms Yawitch informed the Committee that the figures came from the international panel on climate change. Once the greenhouse gas inventory had been completed the data would have to be updated. She assured Members that the DEAT used the standard international figures.
Mr Mokoena was surprised that
Ms Yawitch agreed and explained that during negotiations everyone interpreted things in a way that would further their interests.
She concurred that the figures appeared false in relation to the
Mr Mokoena thought the information very interesting and pointed to the importance of contextualising figures when making presentations to the Committee.
Mr Mokoena pointed out that prior to the bigger, international agreement, the
Ms Yawitch pointed out that the Bamako Convention dealt with issues related to waste and not specifically with greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past few years much work had been done internationally to develop a common African platform as a basis from which to negotiate internationally. At the annual Convention of Parties (COPs) there was now also a meeting of African negotiators. Before the last COPs there was a meeting of African ministers – a document providing the stance from which
She assured the Committee that African countries were starting to develop a common African platform as the basis of its negotiations. During the meeting itself African negotiators met, and often if for some reason they did not negotiate as G77, African negotiators negotiated as part of an African bloc. She reminded Members that there were very different views within
Mr Mokoena also applauded the manner in which the presentation sought to draw ordinary people to contribute to turning the tide of climate change by making small changes to their day-to-day lives and energy consumption.
Mr Mokoena requested the representatives from the South African Weather Services (SAWS) to comment on the issues DEAT had raised in its presentation.
Dr Jonas Mphepya, General Manager Operations (SAWS), explained that SAWS monitored the weather and interpreted what they observed. At the moment they were not developing models. Currently they were monitoring the greenhouse gases at Cape Point. That information gave them an indication of what was happening in the atmosphere. Data from the Cape Point site was used to produce all the studies and reports that were written on the subject.
SAWS also monitored parameters like temperature and rainfall across the whole country and had been doing so for ages. That data made it possible to note and monitor weather trends. The recapitalisation project would allow them to explore the adaptation projects. This would be used to warn communities via their quarterly seasonal forecasts, which predicted climate events. SAWS would be happy to make a presentation to the Committee.
Mr S Rasmeni (ANC) welcomed the presentation and sought clarity on the statement that human socio-economic activity also contributed to emissions.
Ms Yawitch explained that human socio-economic activity referred to developmental activities that included everything from forest clearing in the Amazon and
Mr Rasmeni asked whether Government departments had embarked on campaigns whereby the reduction of emissions could be brought about.
Ms Yawitch responded that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) did, as was required in terms of the Kyoto Convention, a technology needs assessment in relation to climate change. That department was busy working on a climate change research and development strategy, which should be finalised by the end of the year. This strategy would give direction to
The Chairperson sought an update on the global debate around adaptation and asked what the specific measures poorer countries needed to put in place to adapt to climate change.
Ms Beaumont said that it was difficult to say whether the debate around adaptation was being won. An important start was made at the Nairobi COPS in December 2006 where the five-year programme on adaptation was negotiated and agreed upon. One needed to bear in mind that that programme was a five-year one and that adaptation was a 10 to 15 year long process. Essentially the programme was about research and not implementation. The negotiations with in the UNCCC were packaged into all negotiations that related to research and technology and implementation. Adaptation still fell within the first category.
The Five-year programme had a number of sub categories and called on all parties to comment on all aspects of adaptation. The most recent request was for all information on adaptation practices within countries. That exercise had been useful in that
The next step was for the G77 countries to argue for a formal expert group on adaptation. There needed to be a focal point on adaptation so that it could be highlighted, as was the case with mitigation. From an African perspective the urgency was on implementation. Climate change would have an impact that would require adaptation that went beyond normal development programmes. It would require financial and technological support as well as knowledge and access to information. The adaptation argument eventually had to be shifted into an implementation stage.
The Chairperson asked whether any initiatives towards a technology fund had been developed. He also sought comment on whether
Ms Beaumont explained that the G77 position was that there needed to be a global technology acquisition fund. The patent or the intellectual property was often costly and thus there needed to be a global fund. The argument for such a fund had not yet been won.
Within the
Ms Yawitch added that
The current US administration’s strategy saw climate change as an issue of technology and initiated many partnerships, which they set up to promote technology-based solutions.
Referring to
Ms Beaumont thought it important to understand why
She urged members not to forget that climate change was very complex and that countries had different development agendas. The G77 itself comprised countries with vastly different development agendas. Any deal had to be structured in such a manner that all parties felt that they had given something and gotten something. That was what negotiation was about.
The Chairperson asked whether it was possible to link the activity of the COPS with that at the WTO. One could argue that if the WTO were to reduce subsidies several countries would be able to adapt to climate change better.
In Ms Beaumont’s opinion climate change per se was not influencing the negotiations at the WTO level. Negotiations there were at quite a difficult stage and it did not appear as though much headway had been made. She agreed that there was a direct link between climate change and trade. The WTO was about trade at the moment and the negotiators there were quite single-minded about that. The WTO Trade and Environment Committee looked specifically at defining what an ‘environmental good’ was. She explained that it comprised an array of different clean or cleaner technologies. The WTO negotiations were about reducing the tariff of environmental goods. Although climate change was also about trade and economics the focus at the WTO had so far been on trade only.
The Chairperson asked the DEAT to comment on what could be expected from the upcoming meeting in
Ms Beaumont responded that it was difficult to know what to expect. A preparatory meeting would start in
The Chairperson said that
Ms Yawitch explained that the Eskom programme had received wide publicity. Initially the Eskom programme had had very little around renewable energy. Now there was talk of developing a solar energy power station in the
Dr Cachalia thanked the presenters for an informative briefing and thought it encouraging that national and international committees had been established to deal with the challenge of climate change. He was interested in what percentage of budgets had been set aside to implement mitigating methods.
Dr Cachalia noted that the presentation indicated that taking action now would require about 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP). That meant that in 20 years time it would cost about 20-30% of the GDP and that was a frightening scenario for developing economies.
Ms Yawitch said that the Stern Report showed that implementing mitigating measures now would be more beneficial than doing so later. In thirty years time the consequences would be much greater. The report made a political argument for taking action now. In the long run dealing with the displacement caused by extreme climate events would be greater. Planning now would be more economical.
Dr Cachalia asked whether DEAT thought that climate change featured strongly enough on the African Agenda.
Dr Cachalia asked if the carbon capturing mechanisms as used in
Ms Yawitch said that
She added that
Mr Mokoena said that he was making a case for the resuscitation of Bamako Convention. He felt that that forum should be reintroduced so that its leaders and experts could thrash out African issues relating to climate change before they were aired on a global platform. This could only improve
Ms Yawitch thought that the Member’s concerns could be followed up. The African Union (AU) dealt with climate issues in its African Ministers Conference on the environment, which was part of the AU structure.
Mr Morgan sought greater clarity on the greenhouse gases inventory of which not much was heard anymore. He knew that in October 2005 a memorandum of understanding had been signed at Gallagher Estate. He understood the need for such an inventory and wondered when the first report could be expected. He asked if industry players were now measuring the gases they were emitting with the view of releasing that information. He also asked if DEAT oversaw the initiative and whether they measured the smaller emitters who were also numerous in number.
Ms Yawitch said that for the long term mitigation scenario planning they had an emissions trajectory. It was a statistical model based on existing information. They had appointed service providers who were doing the counting. The inventory ought to be complete by April or May 2008. Internationally there were greenhouse gas protocols for particular economic sectors. These protocols determined how greenhouse gases in different sectors were counted.
The smaller emitters’ amounts were essentially estimated by taking into consideration factors such as the size of the sector, the outputs in growth and economic outputs. It was a quite complicated process. It was a difficult sector to deal with. The transport sector was the most difficult to deal with as it contained a variety of emissions. That sector required much more work and expertise but other sectors were reasonably easy to deal with.
Prof Renais Dube of SAWS added that SAWS in partnership with DEAT would host the Air Quality and Information System which was the first national air quality database and would include all kinds of emissions including greenhouse gases. It spoke directly to the Air Quality Act (2004). SAWS would house it and they had already formulated the MOU that outlined responsibilities. DEAT was responsible for pooling the data from the monitoring stations. A company had been appointed to help them run the process. In October SAWS would undertake a benchmarking visit to
Ms Chalmers referring to the Waste Management Bill that would shortly appear before the Committee asked if climate change issues would be reflected in it.
Ms Yawitch said that climate change was part of the waste issue and was linked to the notion of getting the planet to the point that one had sustainable patterns of consumption and production. Patterns of consumption and production needed to change and the imbalance between North and South had to be addressed. The solution could not be found in technology only. At the moment there was over-consumption in the North and many resources went into sustaining those areas. Waste management addressed sustainable consumption and production but did not address climate change directly.
The Chairperson thanked the DEAT and SAWS for their input.
The meeting was adjourned.
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