The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo together with the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment & Infrastructure Services, Cllr Mpho Moerane officially launched the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) on Thursday, 03 June 2021 at The Roodepoort Theatre.
The Mayor was accompanied by the Mayor of eThekwini, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, and C40 Cities Africa Regional Director, Mr Hastings Chikoko and other C40 cities Mayors who joined online. Message of support came from other C40 cities mayors including Mayor of Accra in Ghana and Vice Chair of C40, Mayor Sowah, and a special message from the current C40 Chair Mayor of LA, Mayor Garcetti.
The City of Joburg was the first City in South Africa to join C40 and has over the years demonstrated remarkable leadership in climate action. The City hosted the 2014 C40 Mayors Summit, the first of its kind on African soil, and went to win ‘Finance & Economic Development’ award at the C40 Cities Awards of 2015 for its pioneering Green Bonds initiative.
The CAP reaffirms the City’s commitment to supporting the well-being and livelihoods of all its citizens by pursuing a sustainable and just recovery. The Covid-19 crisis assisted in highlighting the potential severity of another global crisis, the climate breakdown: those hardest hit by the pandemic are largely the same people also facing the greatest threat from climate change.
Mayor Makhubo said "the CAP will ensure that the Johannesburg of the future will be carbon neutral and resilient to the devastating impacts of climate change, for the benefit of all its residents”. The City will work towards these overarching goals step by step, through targets set with different deadlines (2025, 2030, 2040 and 2050), he concluded.
The City has cemented its position as a leading African City, a champion of ambitious climate action planning which will result in accelerated implementation. It has been a trailblazer of innovative climate finance solutions, as demonstrated by its first green bond, and will continue to explore innovative financing mechanisms.
The CAP that has been championed by the Environment & Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) and co-created with all key Departments and Entities, is consistent with the provision of outcome 2 of the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2040, which makes provision for a resilient, liveable, sustainable urban environment – underpinned by smart infrastructure supportive of a low carbon economy. It also responds to strategic priority 9 (Sustainable Environmental Development) of the Government of Local Unity (GLU).
On the international fronts, the City’s CAP intends to fulfil the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement commits signatories to holding the increase of global temperature to well below 2 Degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 Degrees Celsius. As a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the City of Johannesburg’s CAP is partly guided by the Deadline 2020 report that was published by C40 in 2016 as a practical response and demonstration by cities to partial fulfillment of the Paris Agreement.
MMC Moerane said “The main objective of the CAP is to put the City on the path towards achieving carbon neutrality and climate resilience by the year 2050. To achieve the carbon neutrality and resilience objectives, the CAP presents a short-term target to implement deadline 2030 target, a medium-term target to be achieved by 2040 as per the City’s GDS 2040 and the long-term carbon neutrality and resilience target by 2050”.
Representing the Youth of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Celiwe Shivambu said “The students are elated to have contributed in the drafting of the plan and in ensuring that the voice of the youth is heard”.
The City recognises climate action as a social justice imperative that is inextricably linked to the challenges of eradicating poverty and enhancing inclusivity and this CAP is a big step towards mobilising climate action across the City.
Ends
Issued by the City of Johannesburg
For enquiries, please email mediaqueries@joburg.org.za
