Augustin Bondo Tshiani, Head of economic cooperation and infrastructure, European Union Delegation to South Africa

In his welcome address, Augustin Tshiani, head of economic cooperation and infrastructure for the European Union Delegation to South Africa, said Climate 360 Mpumalanga’s aim was to inspire active collaboration on climate change-related challenges.

“We all know the technological solutions for climate change are within reach, but we must act now; we must invest,” he said.

Climate change is a global issue and the European Union (EU) and its member states are ready to “continue and enhance” their collaboration with South Africa on climate change issues, Tshiani said.

South Africa’s well-documented “triple challenge” – poverty, inequality and unemployment – has an effect on the kind of climate action the country takes, he said. However, South Africa’s issues are ones that other countries, from Nigeria to France, also have to grapple with.

It was apt that Climate 360 was kicking off in Mpumalanga, when the province has a direct and indirect impact on climate change in the Southern African region, and also on the needed transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy, he said.

Just as Mpumalanga is investing in this switch, the EU is investing in the same transition in some of its member states that are heavily dependent on coal for energy, such as Poland.

It is “not an easy task” to make this transition, Tshiani said. It requires investment, the mobilisation of resources, careful planning and the involvement of local communities and the youth.

Speaking directly to the young people listening, Tshiani said they are the next businesspeople, engineers and scientists and it is they who have to find the solutions to the challenges climate change presents, and who have to implement them.

Tshiani said it was important that the Climate 360 Mpumalanga delegates learned from each other, and listened to each other. It was important to ensure that all people understand what is behind extreme weather events such as flooding. “You need to spread the word about why it is happening,“ he said.

Climate 360 Mpumalanga aimed to recognise the “just transition” efforts that the Mpumalanga government has put together, he said. Just transition is a catchphrase that encompasses a range of social interventions put in place to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to an economy powered by renewable energy and moving away from a purely extractive mode to one that is more reliant on recycling and other sustainable actions.