INTRODUCTION: ACHIEVING ADEQUATE, AMBITIOUS CLIMATE FINANCE
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Building a sustainable
future The extreme effects of climate change are proving a strain on the global economy and damag- ing countries’ ability to perform essential services.
T his Climate Resilience Sympo- sium is taking place at a time when we are witnessing first- hand our extreme vulnerability to the impacts of a changing climate … Disruptions caused by climate change increase the cost of doing business, undermine competitiveness and dampen employment growth. These disruptions result in lower tax revenue and increased expenditure on disaster relief, health care and social sup- port for affected communities … The resultant strain on public finances then necessitates the reallocation of funds from other essential services. To manage the higher expenditure and lower revenues government may then need to increase borrowing, leading to higher debt levels and interest payments. This limits government’s ability to invest in other critical areas … It is society’s most vulnerable who bear the brunt of climate change because they have limited means to prepare for, cope with, and recover from climate-related adverse events. Just as it is the countries of the Global South that feel the effects of climate change most, despite being least respon- sible historically for global emissions. It is critical that we strengthen systems for adaptation and mitigation, build resil- ience in communities and accelerate our decarbonisation efforts and the pace of the just energy transition. The reality we must confront is that the carbon-intensity of our economy is unsus- tainable. For decades our reliance on coal was a competitive advantage because it allowed us to produce electricity cheaply. But the world has changed and this dependency has come to pose significant risks.
Cyril Ramaphosa, president, South Africa
As the world moves towards greener economies, our trading partners will take measures to ensure that their own climate actions do not undermine their economies. Instruments like the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which has the potential to cause great damage to developing economies, sig- nal the inevitability of carbon pricing in global trade systems. Our emissions-intensive energy sys- tem is likely to increasingly undermine our competitiveness in global markets … If we act too fast, we risk damaging huge sections of our economy before we have built alternative energy and industrial capabilities. At the same time, not acting now risks our economic stability. We must embrace a managed transition to a low-carbon economy, not only to safeguard our people and our environment, but to ensure our
INDECISION AND SLOW ACTION ARE NOT AN OPTION. WE MUST ACT DECISIVELY AND SWIFTLY TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENSURE A JUST TRANSITION FOR ALL SOUTH AFRICANS.
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Financing a Just Transition
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