Youth can play an important role in DEVELOPING A GREEN ECONOMY

BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ost people are aware that climate change is no longer something that will happen in future. It is a lived reality. For South Africans, reality has hit in the form of extreme weather events, such as devastating floods, and prolonged droughts resulting in untenable water shortages in metropolitan areas such as Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay. These events are the new norm for millions of people. They can be linked directly to climate change, and the only way for people to survive is to adapt, which requires technology and the development of new skills.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its Working Group reports released in 2022, made it clear that global development pathways must become more climate-resilient – and that the choices made by society now are critical. With increasing global warming, losses and damages will increase and additional human and natural systems will reach adaptation limits.

It is imperative that South Africa continues its efforts to move towards a green economy, which is regarded as an effective way to achieve equitable, sustainable prosperity that combines economic development and social inclusion within one-planet limits. This means reaching beyond environmental care to create prosperity for all, as societies value nature, tackle inequality, make their current activities green, invest in sustainability and define meaningful ways by which to govern.

In 2021, South Africa made a very ambitious contribution to the global effort to address the climate crisis in the form of its updated Nationally Determined Contribution affirming the economic opportunities offered by a low-carbon development pathway given the country’s endowment of natural resources, including wind, sun and minerals key to the global green economy. The National Determined Contribution also emphasises the importance of a just transition – addressing South Africa’s development challenges, ensuring that there is a smooth and prosperous transition for workers and communities from our current coal-based economy to a future zero-carbon economy, and making maximum use of economic opportunities, including green industrialisation.

Because the youth are such an integral part of the future, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment has in the past two years hosted the Driving Force for Change youth initiative through which youth entrepreneurs who are committed to implementing sustainability principles into their business models can apply for financial support. The youth entrepreneurs are also provided with much-needed business acumen skills training interventions to support them in strengthening their respective business ventures.

This initiative is a recognition of the fact that young people are aware of the role which they want to play in addressing challenges such as unemployment, climate change and social inclusion by making a meaningful contribution to support our country’s transition efforts.

The eagerness of the youth to be involved in rebuilding and growing the economy and society post-Covid-19 is evident from the interactions between young people and government. One of these was the 2020 Youth Environment and Sustainability Dialogue where more than 100 young South Africans presented a wide range of ideas including that a green recovery mechanism needs to be genderand youth-responsive and that the renewable energy, transportation and waste management industries are prioritised in the country’s green recovery strategy. The climate crisis, they said, needs to be dealt with greater urgency.

The young people asked for greater access to the Green Climate Fund to enable them to implement ideas they had for a more environmentally friendly society. This included promoting access to, and projects of, the world’s largest fund created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to assist developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change.