Joburg looks ahead to COP 17

The Conference of the Parties meeting will give Joburg the opportunity to exhibit its climate change initiatives, and build international networks and partnerships for growth.
PREPARATIONS for the 17th Conference of the Parties meeting (COP 17), to be held in Durban towards the end of the year, are going on in earnest, according to the City’s deputy director for climate change, Linda Phalatse.

Cop 17She says Cop 17 will be a great opportunity for South African municipalities to participate in and help the country achieve its commitments on climate change. The conference will take place from 28 November to 9 December.

“A programme building up to COP 17 has been developed to capture a whole range of activities.”

COP 17 is expected to be as big as COP 15, which was hosted by Denmark in Copenhagen in 2009 and which drew over 30 000 participants. COP 16 was held in Cancun, in Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010.

More than 25 000 delegates from 193 countries, drawn largely from governments, business and academia, are expected in Durban for the convention. Talks will focus on finding solutions to global warming.

Phalatse says Joburg will showcase its successful climate initiatives, like Cosmo City’s greening programme, to an international audience. “This will expose the city and possibly open new avenues for further international partnerships and investments.”

Climate change is more than a topic for discussion, and Phalatse points out that Joburg, the most populous city in South Africa, is facing many potentially negative consequences from the impact of climate change.

One of these is the deteriorating air quality, mainly caused by emissions from industry, mining operations, vehicles, domestic fuel burning, waste disposal and incineration. “Emissions from vehicles are significantly rising mainly due to increasing traffic volumes and congestion during peak hours, contributing to air pollution.”

She says the City has undertaken a climate change vulnerability assessment to improve its resilience to possible climate change. “The assessments of these impacts provide an insight on how to manage vulnerability, disaster risk and climate change within the relevant legislative and policy frameworks.”

Ways to reduce carbon emissions will be explored at the summitWays to reduce carbon emissions will be explored at the summitTo help it cope with any climate changes, Joburg is mapping out flood prone areas, developing early warning systems of climatic disasters and raising environmental awareness in vulnerable communities. Available climate model projections for the city indicate that it is likely to become significantly hotter and more humid in future.

The models suggest that temperatures may increase about 2,3 degrees Celsius by the near future (2056-2065) and around 4,4 degrees Celsius by the far future. “Additionally, there is a substantial risk that the city will experience an increase in annual rainfall characterised by a higher frequency of storm events and a longer rainy season.”

Phalatse identifies a number of risks that could arise as a result of climate changes:

Increase in heat related deaths;
Increased energy demand;
Increased water demand;
Disruption to water security; and
Increased road accidents and traffic congestion.
The COP is the highest body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and consists of environment ministers who meet once a year to discuss the convention’s development.