Hon Deputy Chairperson and hon Chairperson, Minister and all members of the NCOP, allow me to extend my sincere greetings to all of you on this important sitting as we discuss a subject so dear to all of us and so critical in human life more than any time ever before. We today gather here hon Deputy Chairperson, to within the avail of our mental faculties to jointly explore various ways to combat climate change and protect humankind from the long-term possible effect of extinction - a reality posed by this threat of climate challenge.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, in his state of the nation address, President Ramaphosa said in acknowledging the challenges of climate change and I quote, "This is the time when humankind faces its greatest existential threat in the form of climate change".
This acknowledgement by our hon President and the many made by various leaders in many other forums is an important reminder, that
we as today's leaders have a duty to do everything possible within and even beyond our means to combat this challenge of climate change, to safe humanity from possible extinction.
As we meet here today, majority of our people from the length and breadth of our beautiful country look upon us to provide the necessary solutions and interventions.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, these are our people who on daily basis are confronted with the challenges imposed on them by climate change. These are farmers who are experiencing diminishing rainfall in the far rural province of Limpopo; these are farmers who are sadly losing their crops in Mpumalanga province because of raising temperatures.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, these are the farmers who are losing their livestock in the Northern Cape, in the North West province, and the rest of our country due to drought which is a direct consequence of this climate change.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, our people who are in the tourism sector are looking upon us to find the permanent solution to these challenge, they do so because day in, day out they see their sector being on a
possible route to extinction, this they do as they witness the wildlife dying helplessly in their eyes due to drought. They see the tourist attracting flora being ravaged by the diminished rainfall.
They see their river streams that attracted so many visitors to their shores slowly narrowing and shallowing. Here in the Western Cape, in the Eastern Cape and in the beautiful KwaZulu-Natal Natal, they witness the tourist attracting marine life being threatened by the rising sea temperatures.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, our people in the health fraternity knows that unless we combat climate change, their battle of defeating Malaria and other related tropical diseases will remain in vain. They know hon Deputy Chairperson that the future of the health system depends greatly on how much effort we put in combating climate change.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, climate change is a reality in our eyes; it is a reality that threatens everything about and around us. There is no phenomenon that has ever tempered with the ecosystem in the memorable history of humanity than climate change. This impose on us a responsibility indeed hon Deputy Chairperson, to summon all our abilities to this fight.
Much has been said on this matter, much analysis and lot of work produced on this subject, but much still needs to be done. We need to move beyond our words, we need to walk our talk and so must all global leaders.
In her address to the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit which was held in New York, Greta Thunberg, a young Swedish climate change activist cried out that and I quote:
This is all wrong. I should not be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!
She continued and said:
You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are
upon you, and if you choose to fail us, I say: we will never forgive you.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, this echoing words of Greta are as much the words of Ayakha Melithafa and are indeed the words of the many other young people beyond the borders of our country who look upon us to provide direction, they are the words of the many generations who look at us with the fear of betrayal.
We today must say, we refuse to betray you, we must say we will take the lead in the course of fighting against climate change. This we must do for it is a noble course of humanity.
It is my view hon Deputy Chair that amongst other things we must do in order to combat climate change and preserve humanity and the entirety of the gift of the ecosystems bestowed upon us by the most high. Firstly, we must provide the necessary support to the Presidential Commission on Climate Change and call on the commission to speed up its work to assist us fight this phenomenon. We must do everything in our oversight work to ensure that all laws meant to combat climate change are adhered to the latter and this will go a long way in bringing us closer to climate justice. We must call upon all industries to lend a hand in combating climate change. We must
intensify climate change education amongst our people particularly our learners in schools.
We must take a lead as a country in advocacy role for climate change all over the world. Over and above all, hon Deputy Chairperson, I call on all of us, to be the advocate of war on combating climate change. We must take the lead to fight climate change in our communities and every corner of our planet.
We must refuse to be the betrayers of our youth as said by Greta. We must say to Greta, to Ayakha, and to the children of South Africa, Africa, and the world, that we dare not betray you, this is a noble course we will never dishonour. I thank you. [Applause.]