Madam House Chair, hon members, climate change poses a large and unfamiliar challenge to the world. The UK chief scientific advisor, David King, has said that climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism.
At their July 2005 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, G8 leaders issued a statement acknowledging that climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe. And former US President Bill Clinton has warned that the climate change is the only problem that has the power to end the march of civilization as we know it.
Hon members, while we as legislators face many problems that require serious and urgent attention in South Africa, most notably poverty, HIV/Aids and crime, it is time that we wake up to our country's contribution to climate change and the likely effects that it will have on our country and our continent over the coming century.
The most recent report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published on 2 February 2007, concludes that it is now 90% certain that human activities in 1750 have warmed our planet. There are, however, still sceptics that doubt the science behind this report. There are critics that claim that climate change proponents are anti-growth. But opponents must now tell us, if it is not the reasons in the IPCC report that climate changes are human-induced what is causing it? As Senator Kerry told the meeting of legislators from the G8+5 in Washington last month:
If we are wrong about climate change, what is the worst that can happen? We will have better technology, improved energy security, reduced certification of the oceans and cleaner air. What is the worse that can happen if the sceptics are wrong?
Hon members, the precautionary principle must prevail, or to use the creed of doctors, we should do no harm.
Concern is growing that our communities in ecosystems will have little time to adjust to the changing conditions. Economic losses due to extreme weather events are already being experienced and are likely to increase in the future. The World Health Organisation estimates that climate change is already responsible for 150 000 deaths annually. It is the developing world that is expected to endure the worst effects of climate change. Indeed, much of the work of this House in developing legislation that seeks to eradicate poverty is likely to be eroded by the effects of climate change if we do not act.
As legislators, none of us has the luxury of standing by. Indifference by this House will only accentuate the problem. There is a growing consensus among legislators around the world - the Deputy Speaker has alluded to this - particularly in the G8 countries. In our window of opportunity, which is a short one, we will need to act. If the likes of Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer, both Democrats, are to be believed then even the US legislators are moving, albeit slowly, to respond to climate change. We as South African legislators must not be caught unawares though. As the Kyoto Protocol approaches 2012, the year in which it will expire in its current form, countries like India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa will be expected to sign up for commitments, whatever they may be.
Hon members, we will need to embrace this challenge. According to the Stern report of October 2006, the cost of inaction will be greater than the cost of action. However, both the developed and the developing world will need to come to the table under the right conditions. As the legislators at the G8+5 climate dialogue noted last month: ... action on climate change needs to take into account the differing circumstances of the developed, developing and poor economies, recognising the need for economic growth and access to energy to alleviate poverty.
Action must be taken by countries in line with their capabilities and historic responsibilities.
It is now time to start plotting the way forward. The Kyoto Protocol leading up to 2012 will need to be renegotiated. The market approach must remain a key component although we must accept its limitations. This time around we cannot just rely on emissions trading. We will need to go further. Eileen Claussen of the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change recommends five principles on which a future climate framework must be negotiated. Firstly, it must be agreed that we need to find long-term ambitious goals. Secondly, developed countries must take the lead. Thirdly, there can be no solution, due to the global nature of the problem, without the participation of developing countries. Fourthly, incentives need to be established for the developing world, and lastly, and arguably most importantly, there needs to be a fully functioning carbon market that includes a price for carbon.
It is likely that the upcoming G8 presidency, under Chancellor Merkel, will attempt to seek a long-term goal to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. This goal will probably be somewhere between 450 and 550 parts per million of CO2. Following that, the plan on how to reach this goal will need to be thrashed out.
Hon members, there are a number of issues that we, in South Africa, will need to address urgently if we are to make our contribution to preventing a climate disaster. It will require new investments, both in the public and private sectors, and in some cases we as legislators will need to create the legislative framework and the incentives to act.
It is likely that coal will remain the dominant source of energy in South Africa for decades to come. But its contribution to electricity generation, currently around 90%, has to be reduced. It is an indictment on this country that renewable energy contributes a negligible proportion on our energy mix. Eskom has yet to move beyond a few renewable energy demonstration models. Poor energy planning over the past decade has meant that under an impending energy crunch in this country, Eskom has once again resorted to taking coal power stations out of mothballs and is likely to continue building new coal stations. In this state of affairs, renewable energy is constantly put on the back burner. This situation simply has to change.
If energy from coal is to remain on our agenda for the foreseeable future, then it would be necessary for us to induce producers into using best practice technology that will provide for cleaner coal. Carbon capture and storage need to be high on the agenda. The IPCC estimated that in 2005 carbon capture and storage can contribute between 15% and 55% of the cumulative mitigation effort worldwide until 2010.
A home-grown company, Anglo American plc, is in fact a world leader in this field. However, it is developing this technology in Australia and not in South Africa. Why? Because Australia has done more to produce a carbon capture and storage regulatory regime. Therefore, South Africa will need to move to provide the funding for a national storage map and will need to introduce the necessary legislation and incentives to attract the likes of Anglo American into the South African market.
Perhaps the area of intervention that South Africa can respond to most quickly is energy efficiency, the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency estimates that worldwide energy efficiency improvements alone can reduce the world's energy demand in 2050 by an amount equivalent to almost half of today's energy consumption. We, as legislators, need to look at initiatives like strict standards for standby time for appliances and fuel efficiency in the transport sector in order to realise efficiency gains.
Mandatory energy efficiency labelling of all machines and appliances must be fast-tracked.
Lastly, with regarding to promoting energy efficiency as well as energy conservation, there is a need for a massive public education programme in this country. Households, individuals and businesses need to have an understanding of what their respective carbon footprints are in order to even begin the process of reducing these footprints.
There is much work ahead. With sensible legislation and regulations we can use the response to climate change to encourage new investments and to create new markets. But let us always be mindful of the narrow window of opportunity in which we need to act.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I certainly support the initiative of offsetting our emissions from flying and I will support you on that.
Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is an international security issue, a jobs issue and an issue important to our children and grandchildren. It's time to take it seriously. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member, I will convey your sentiments to the Deputy Speaker.