Discover how urgent action, accountability, and a focus on adaptation are reshaping our climate response strategies. Join the movement towards effective climate action today.
Image: South African Tourism
A strong message anchored on three priorities is emerging from across the various corners and sectors of the climate movement and from the apex institutions that drive our climate responses- It is a message of urgent action, accountability and increased focus on adaption as we move from planning phase and lean unto active implementation support of the initiatives needed to inspire, catalyse and drive momentum in our climate change response measures.
This message is calling for a shift towards project pipeline development and partnership implementation models and practical Just Transition delivery mechanisms.
As the Presidential climate Commission, our infant years reported positive outcomes, demonstrated through employment creation, economic diversification initiatives, green entrepreneurship support, agricultural projects and community development interventions can be maximised through the practicalisation of the just transition framework – this shows action is possible.
The implementation of the Climate Change Act creates a significant opportunity for increased national adaptation planning, resilience measurement and climate governance, including through the State of Climate Action Report and future climate assessments.
In the face of this new opportunity, there is a risk of adaptation efforts becoming fragmented and project-driven without a clearer strategic framework and stronger coordination across government, municipalities and partners.
While adaptation activity is increasing across institutions, there is a risk of duplication, inefficiencies and uneven implementation, underscoring the need for improved coordination and clearer institutional roles.
These opportunities however can only be realised if adaptation initiatives contribute to broader resilience outcomes and long-term strategic objectives and contributes to and from strengthening local implementation, adaptation finance, early warning systems, resilience measurement and governance, while ensuring adaptation is integrated into the Just Transition agenda.
It would therefore be amiss if we do not need deliberately and more zealously position adaptation as a system-wide resilience agenda rather than a series of standalone projects- and that will require the emerging Resilience Framework as a key tool for improving strategic coherence for the Commission's adaptation work.
The Presidential Climate Commission has highlighted implementation at provincial and municipal level as a critical priority, with the need to move beyond vulnerability assessments towards practical implementation support, capacity-building and access to finance for municipalities
In the same breadth resource attrition is being felt as climate-related insurance and reinsurance risks are emerging as an important strategic issue, presenting an opportunity for the Commission to explore resilience financing and risk-sharing solutions with the financial sector, and importantly increasing the role of the sector being of the resolution of the global climate crisis.
We have reaffirmed the importance of developing practical mechanisms to unlock adaptation finance.
As the commission takes the next phase of the Just Adaptation and resilience Investment Plan ( JARIP) to the next level, we remain alert to need to ensure that governance arrangements, investment pipelines and access pathways are credible, implementable and responsive to local government realities – that will be a ground-breaker for translating the JARIP into an operational investment platform.
With lessons from State of Climate Action Report, 2024, it remains clear that South Africa continues to demonstrate strong climate policy ambition, but implementation challenges remain significant.
Particular attention was drawn to institutional capacity constraints, policy coherence, climate finance mobilisation, and the implementation challenges facing local government.
As we move forward, the Commission will be focused primarily on strengthening our role in monitoring, accountability, and assessment under the Climate Change Act.
This role positions the PCC as South Africa's leading climate accountability and assessment institution, with a mandate that extends beyond reporting compliance to assessing impacts, enabling accountability, supporting course correction, and informing evidence-based decision-making.
Central to this role is the development of the: the Biennial Climate Response Report and the National State of Climate Change Assessment Report.
These roles and responsibilities require us to remain alive to the non-negotiability and importance of scientific credibility, independent review, robust methodologies, and ensuring that these reports become recognised national instruments for tracking climate action, implementation progress, and transition outcomes.
Another mechanism which should drive accountability is the continued work on the development of the Just Transition Indicator framework which should deliver the integration of just transition indicators within government planning and reporting systems, as a pragmatic approach that focuses on embedding relevant indicators within departmental mandates while strengthening the overall measurement of just transition outcomes.
Overall, the strategic direction of the PCC's monitoring and evaluation programme will be the development a credible national climate measurement, accountability and assessment architecture that strengthens transparency, learning, coordination, and implementation across the climate response system.
To ensure that climate change remains more than a just an environmental concern, our assessments will continue to evolve and with future assessments placing greater focus on adaptation and resilience, health impacts, local government performance, vulnerable communities, socio-economic outcomes, and the lived experiences of South Africans as climate impacts intensify.
Blessing Manale, Executive Manager, Consensus Building, Communications and Outreach.
Blessing Manale is the executive manager: consensus building, communications and outreach at the Presidential Climate Commission.
Image: Supplied.
Follow Business Report on Facebook, X and on LinkedIn for the latest Business and tech news.