Hon House Chair, Minister, members, thank you to my colleagues and all other members taking part in this important debate on climate change today. Thank you Minister for your input and drive in the Department of Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries. We are awaiting the climate change's Bill as a tool to mainstream climate change's mitigation and adaptation management, and we will also do the required oversight.

In summary, all speakers addressed and agreed that we should not only accept the status quo, that we only act or speak out when our immediate environment are severely disrupted; when we start feeling the consequences, that is when we start to act.

Hon Minister, thank you very much for all the different kinds of funds that you've mentioned here today because few speakers also addressed the need to find ways to access more funding and to lobby for greater access to international funding. As well asw that we need to streamline climate change's mitigation and adaptation priorities so that climate change's key performance areas could be addressed through the normal budget cycle of all government departments, and for that matter, in all other organisations.

Hon Bara, the importance of research, monitoring and evaluation needs to be emphasized as it will provide the roadmap for successes as sustainable adaptation and mitigation.

We need to prioritise the capacity building on all levels and various speakers addressed the role and function of local government; and we need to address capacity building, specifically on local government level.

Minister Creecy, you mentioned that some of the disaster management and spatial framework and a few other things already being included in some of the municipalities, specifically district municipalities. But local government needs to integrate climate change into the integrated development plans, IDPs to address, specifically,

vulnerable people and vulnerable communities with specific reference to water pollution, waste management and disasters.

Various speakers addressed energy and water; we need to prioritise these two sectors or resources with a cross-cutting effect thereof on other sectors like transport, agriculture, housing and ... actually all the rest of this.

I think each and everyone here addressed the importance of renewable energy; there's no question about that. The question just: When will we really upscale on that?

Hon Arnold, as your provincial Whip, I suggest that you read a little bit wider than only the EFF's manifesto. That might refrain you from a few; only EFF claims in our next debate.

We all agree on the importance of our biodiversity and focus on ecosystem management. We should focus and encourage opportunities developing out of the climate change management to increase economic growth and job creation, as Minister Creecy also said.

Hon Matibe, preferential hearing normally leads to incorrect assumptions. I highlighted some examples from the Western Cape as

many other speakers form other provinces did, as we should, according to our spelled out role and responsibilities in section 42 of the Constitution. But you're a special delegate; I will forgive you with this one time.

Lastly, we need to focus on awareness and sharing of information and education to learn from each other and implement small and major interventions projects and programmes to ensure the future of our generations to come.

We welcome the education role of the SA Weather Services as the Minister announced.

Hon Smit, to use your analogy, hopefully we all will go out today with the understanding that we should not only be barking dogs for climate change, but that we should become guide dogs for climate change to ensure that each and everyone in South Africa becomes part in the effort to combat global warming. I thank you. [Applause.]