South Africa Moves to Strengthen Climate Response Across Municipalities
As South Africa experiences more frequent extreme weather events, government has launched a national initiative to strengthen climate-responsive development across municipalities.
Municipalities play a critical role in addressing climate change through service delivery, infrastructure development and community engagement.
However, many local authorities continue to face capacity, coordination and resource constraints that limit their ability to effectively plan and implement climate responses.
“South Africa has made significant progress in developing robust climate policy frameworks. However, the true test of our success lies not in the policies we adopt, but in the impact we deliver on the ground – particularly within municipalities, where citizens experience the realities of climate change most directly,” Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Narend Singh said on Tuesday in Pretoria.
He was speaking at the launch of the Climate Action Planning (CAP) Support Project, an initiative of the South African Local Government Association in partnership with the African Climate Foundation.
The project was initially piloted and is still ongoing at nine district municipalities.
It is designed to provide focused technical and institutional support to all 44 district municipalities in the country, to review, strengthen, and implement Climate Action Plans in line with the Climate Change Act, national climate policy, and South Africa’s Just Energy Transition and developmental priorities.
The launch expands the intervention to 35 remaining district municipalities.
“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is actively advancing the implementation of the Climate Change Act, Act 22 of 2024.
“We have embarked on the process of developing the National Climate Change Adaptation Scenarios to provide South Africa with the scientific basis upon which we frame our adaptation responses.
“These scenarios will be consulted upon to ensure that we collect inputs across our stakeholders, ensuring that they reflect the realities faced by communities across urban, rural, and coastal environments,” the Deputy Minister said.
The department has also developed technical guidelines to support different spheres of society to undertake their adaptation needs and response assessments, as well as corresponding climate change response plans required by the Act.
These guidelines are intended to ensure consistency, improve planning quality, and support municipalities in meeting their legislative obligations.
Beyond introducing the project, the launch established a platform for stakeholder alignment, partnership mobilisation and resource coordination, reinforcing municipalities’ role as key implementers of South Africa’s climate response.
The initiative also positions SALGA as a leading champion of climate-responsive local governance and collaborative action across sectors.
By SAnews.gov.za.
