Climate change task team may be ‘doomed to fail’
Some people are still sceptical of the municipality’s plans and believe more community participation is needed
ETHEKWINI Municipality plans to set up a climate change political task team to ‘monitor and support the city’s work in promoting the climate change agenda’.
“Given our involvement in the climate change mitigation and adaptation work, it is important to establish a council committee comprising of councillors to help the city to fully engage on these matters,” said city manager, Sibusiso Sithole.
Mayor James Nxumalo, who is the leader of the Durban Adaptation Charter following the COP 17 climate change conference, has become a global champion of climate change adaptation.
A political task team, made up of councillors and led by the mayor and deputy mayor, will draft an adaptation and mitigation climate change strategy. Durban will become the first city to have a strategy in place, once it is adopted by council.
But some are still sceptical of the municipality’s plans and believe more community participation is needed.
“This task team that is being set up is doomed to fail if affected people who not only experience climate change but have the solutions in their hand are marginalised and not involved,” said South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, Desmond D’Sa.
