MEC Anton Bredell on South Africa’s commitment to environmental challenges

29 March 2022

Anton Bredell, Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning today warned that government initiatives and actions are too slow to address the double challenges of climate change and rapid urbanization in South Africa.

Bredell said that even though South Africa received financial commitments of R130billion at COP26 at the end of 2021 to assist with a transition away from coal powered electricity generation, there is currently no clarity on what the National Government is planning to do. “There has been no official communication via the Climate Change Working Group on this important opportunity for us. I am concerned that our National Government is moving too slow and in an uncoordinated manner.”

Bredell said this is frustrating, as COP26 stated very clearly that human actions are causing environmental damages, and our carbon-based economies are contributing to climate change. Another report, the 2022 Global Risk Report, published by the World Economic Forum, stated that our inability to address environmental issues, is the number one risk for humanity over the next decade.

Bredell said the state of the environment described by the international reports are reflected in work done by the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.

“Our latest update of The State of Environment Outlook Report 2018 makes for sobering reading. It shows that the pressures on our natural systems are unsustainable. More needs to be done to protect critically sensitive or important environmental features, without which the ability of the Western Cape to adapt to impacts from increasing population and climate change is uncertain,” Bredell said.

Bredell said important work done by the Department which focus on water catchment programmes will continue in the Berg and Breede River catchments through the Berg River Improvement Plan and the Breede River Environmental Resource Protection Plan.

A total of 29 Estuaries Management Plans has also been made available to the public for comment earlier this year, and the Department, together with CapeNature, are now in a review process after which the Plans will be finalisation and approved.  

These plans set out to co-ordinate and manage the various activities and impacts that occur within the estuarine functional zone. In some instances, this could ultimately lead to declaring an estuary as a protected area or special management area. Such as been the case with the Berg River Estuary, which was recently declared a Ramsar Site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

The 3rd iteration of the Western Cape Air Quality Management Plan (2021 – 2025) released this year, focus on air quality, air pollution and climate change. An investment of R10million over the past 2 years to upgrade 12 atmospheric monitoring stations allows the Department to support Western Cape municipalities to know in real time what the status of their air quality is, and to assist them in drafting their individual Air Quality Plans.

“These projects all work towards our long-term plans for a greener and sustainable environment, whilst contributing to the implementation of the Western Cape Climate Change Strategy: Vision 2050, which is currently being developed,” Bredell said.

Issued by Wouter Kriel, Spokesperson for Minister Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, 29 March 2022