The seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP17) which kicked off in South Africa on 28 November 2011, will again shift global attention to climate change, while organisations such as the Climate Change Leadership Awards (CCLA) ensures meaningful progress is made in South African communities after the conference is concluded.
Durban is hosting the so-called environmental World Cup known as COP17, an annual gathering of Kyoto Protocol signatories to enact resolutions and make decisions about curbing and reversing the effects of climate change. Climate change has long-since ceased to be a scientific curiosity and is no longer just one of many environmental and regulatory concerns. Ban Ki Moon, United Nations secretary general, says: “It is the major over-riding environmental issue of our time, and the single greatest challenge."
“The hosting of COP17 draws attention to climate change in our country while a Climate Change white paper has just been circulated,” says Jeunesse Park, founder of Food & Trees for Africa and the CCLA. “We expect a hive of activity in the field during the conference but it is after the conference has broken up, and the global media attention departs, that the ground work here will be done by people living in South African communities.
“We recently published an article in the Swazi Observer which states: “It is the poor billions across the globe who are and will continue to suffer the most from the ravages of climate change. With this knowledge and understanding, we cannot stand by and do nothing. It will take great political, corporate and individual courage to address this global crisis and we can no longer allow business as usual. We are at a critical time in Earth's history and we are choosing the future. We need only look to the Horn of Africa to see that climate change is here now and get a glimpse of the suffering that lack of leadership and extreme weather can cause.””
The CCLA is the first South African competition to encourage climate change action and response by motivating companies, communities, schools and individuals to innovate sustainable projects, products, services and programmes.
Some of South Africa's leading businesses are partners in this initiative. Partners include, the South African Post Office, Pick n Pay,Talk Radio 702 and sister station 567 Cape Talk, ABI, the soft drink division of SAB, Avis Rent a Car, kulula and the National Business Initiative, and are already promoting a more sustainable future for South Africa.
“We've had notable winners, such as Avis, Nedbank, Santam, Backsberg, Woolworths, Rocking the Daisies and Barrows Design,” says Park.
Interest in the competition is growing annually and progress is significant. Entries tripled in 2010, a good sign for a planet increasingly under pressure. Last year greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount to the highest carbon output in history, according to unpublished estimates by the International Energy Agency.
Earlier this year, The Guardian quoted professor lord Stern of the London School of Economics and author of the influential Stern Report into the economics of climate change, who said: “Such warming would disrupt the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people across the planet, leading to widespread mass migration and conflict. That is a risk any sane person would seek to drastically reduce.”
Wayne Duvenhage, chief executive of Avis Rent a Car says “Just being nominated as a finalist for the CCLA was very encouraging for us and helped to confirm that we were moving in the right direction. We are not environmental impact experts, just an organisation of people who love serving customers and are passionate about doing business more responsibly. The CCLA helped us focus in the area of verifying our process and claims. Being able to substantiate the good work we do in this area means a lot for us, our staff and our customers. Winning the award was an absolutely reassuring experience, confirming that our focus and commitment to sustainability ran deeper than we thought it did. It's this recognition that adds fuel to our fire of caring.”
