Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
In relation to the Western Cape Government’s response to climate change:
- (a) What are the main challenges in implementing a comprehensive response on provincial level, (b) to what extent has the lack of an integrated plan from the national government curtailed the Western Cape Government’s plan and (c) what support has been received from the national government to address the threat of climate change in the province;
- whether the support received from the national government has been sufficient; if not, what further support from the national government would be beneficial?
1. In relation to the Western Cape Government’s response to climate change:
(a) What are the main challenges in implementing a comprehensive response on provincial level;
Implementing a comprehensive response to climate change on a provincial level can be challenging for a number of reasons. One of the main challenges is limited resources, both financial and human, to develop and implement programs and policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change which are appropriate for our context. These resources should not only be expected from Vote 9 but pervasive across WCG.
With climate change being a transversal issue, another challenge is poor coordination and cooperation between different government departments and sectors, which can lead to a fragmented approach. This exacerbates the problem of accessing financial support, due to climate change response project proposals not getting to implementation readiness state, or not being large enough to qualify for external funding.
Incorrectly labelled as an environmental problem, there can also be a lack of public and political support and understanding of the need for action on climate change, which can make it difficult to secure political will and resources when it is seen as being in competition with pressing priorities.
(b) to what extent has the lack of an integrated plan from the national government curtailed the Western Cape Government’s plan and;
The lack of provincially proportional and downscaled targets, thresholds and obligations which are specifically resourced from national government makes it difficult for the Western Cape Government to align and implement policies and programs in a manner that complements the national plan, and to secure the necessary funding and support from national and international sources. The main concern though is the lack of provincial proportioned downscaled targets, thresholds and obligations that should guide the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and benchmarking of adaptation and resilience.
(c) what support has been received from the national government to address the threat of climate change in the province;
The national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has, on occasion, conducted capacity building sessions in the province, and channelled international donor funding to localised response projects.
The platform for sharing information related to international treaties is the Environmental Sector MinTech Working Groups (WG9 is Climate Change). These are, however, restricted to the National commitment and not unpacked to the subnational level as evident in the current version of the Climate Change Bill. The WCG is an active participant on this platform, advancing and defending the interests of subnational spheres of government.
In respect of adaptation measures – i.e. adapting to unavoidable impacts of climate change – mention can be made of individual local intervention projects by the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. These projects typically facilitate the use of international donor funding for local scale adaptation such as early warning systems or response strategy development. We have benefitted from an Adaptive Capacity Facility funded project setting up an early warning system for fires in the Garden Route District Municipality. The national DFFE has a Local Government Support Programme that supports municipalities directly in some of their response activities.
2. Whether the support received from the national government has been sufficient; if not, what further support from the national government would be beneficial?
It is important for both the national and provincial governments to work together technically to address the challenges of climate change. The National team endeavours to provide access to technical expertise, and sharing best practices and lessons learned from other regions. International funding is often channelled to Provinces which experience high levels of poverty especially of their large rural populations. In order for the Western Cape to respond sufficiently with the necessary urgency and scale to predicted climate change impacts, there would need to be a dedicated national conditional grant or ring-fenced funds provided to Province and to the Municipalities for our respective roles.
