11 November 2021
Building Partnerships for Adaptation Action in South Africa
The South African Cabinet approved the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in 2020. The strategy is aimed at galvanizing implementation of adaptation actions through a range of systemic interventions and partnerships that catalyze horizontal and vertical partnerships between government, civil society, and the private sector, and with support of domestic and donor funds.
This session will spotlight the achievements and innovations of this programme of work and create platform for further collaboration.
Time: 10:00 to 11:30 GMT
12:00 to 13:30 SAST
Forests and fibre – “a renewable and sustainable solution to the Just Transition, economic recovery, circular economy and climate change”
“There is no time to waste. We need real and reliable climate actions, and we need them now. Managed forests and renewable forest products are a big part of the solution. Their combined positive effects on the global climate are large, immediate and a co-benefit of financial returns in the forest-based sector.”
Dr Peter Holmgren, FutureVistas Inc., Time to dispel the forest carbon debt illusion
The Paris Agreement includes an explicit call to conserve and enhance forests and other biological carbon reservoirs. According to Dr Holmgren, it is sometimes suggested that harvesting wood leads to a carbon debt that takes long to pay back by new trees. This statement goes diametrically against the understanding that the forest bioeconomy is a significant part of the climate solutions we need. [Reduced] or halted forest harvesting is an invalid climate action – also in the short term – where sustainable forest management and efficient value chains are in place.
Time: 12:30 to 14:00 GMT
14:30 to 16:00 SAST
To attend this event, click on the link here.
Financing the just transition in South African cities to net-zero by 2050 with the Alliance for Climate Action-South Africa
The Alliance for Climate Action-South Africa (ACA-SA) will be hosting a hybrid event at South Africa’s COP26 Pavilion. Join the event to explore local governments unique position in delivering the net-zero emissions agenda and how they can access the support and finance needed to achieve these ambitious goals.
South African cities will be given the opportunity to share key initiatives highlighted in their ambitious Climate Action Plans (CAPs), their plans for implementation, and associated financing needs. The panel of speakers will discuss key issues related to financing the implementation of CAPs in a just and inclusive way, focusing on global climate finance trends, sources, and accessibility. The session will end with a discussion on the need for financial flows to cities in developing countries for both adaptation and mitigation interventions.
Context:
Cities are critical to delivering the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement but are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They have been at the forefront of government climate ambition and action over the last decade. More than 1000 global cities have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. As delegates from across the world meet to discuss their plans to achieve climate neutrality and build climate resilience, this is an opportunity to see how South African cities have headed to this call and to explore how cities can lead the transition to a net-zero and climate resilient economy.
An effective response to climate change impacts, require funding support which is essential to accelerating the transition to net zero and achieving the full ambition of the Paris Agreement. Therefore, financing a net zero transition that is climate resilient in South African cities is the next step in this journey.
The ACA-SA is convened by the C40 Cities, WWF-South Africa, and the National Business Initiative (NBI). Members of the ACA-SA include the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and City of Cape Town.
Time: 15:30 to 17:00 GMT | 17:30 to 19:00 SAST
To attend this event, click on the link here.
