Parliament Praised for Leadership on Climate Change at P20 Event

South Africa’s Parliament was praised yesterday for its work on climate change issues during the second P20 Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Kleinmond.

Dr Yazini April, former Coordinating Head of the BRICS Research Centre at the Human Sciences Research Council, said Parliament had played a pivotal role in ensuring inclusion in the Just Energy Transition (JET). “Effective oversight is key to monitoring this process because there is a lot of money. It is going to be billions of rands,” she said. “The Parliamentary Budget Office has stressed the importance of embedding gender and redistribution as a core element of the nation’s fiscal strategy.”

She called on P20 members to produce accessible, gender-based financial statements annually and to update spending data. “This is not a South Africa problem; Members should be empowered to do more oversight and follow what is happening in this space.”

Another delegate, Ms Jane Mananiso, Chairperson of Parliament’s Select Committee on Security and Justice, noted that the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus needed to elevate issues of climate change and women’s rights, while also identifying vulnerable groups affected by socio-economic challenges, including child-headed households.

“There is nothing we could do without speaking about the JET. We are happy that it has been acknowledged that we have come a long way, and we are not far from being where we want to be.”

Ms Mananiso said South Africa could learn from India on how to include vulnerable groups in climate change programmes. She proposed that the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus invite Dr April again to discuss health and JET. “We should invite the presenter so that she could share the best practice of bringing those we represent into the climate change programmes. The issue is that the development programmes do not have exit opportunities, and this presents us with an opportunity to propose solutions that involve everyone in the entire value chain.”

Another delegate, Ms Lindelwa Dunjwa, Chairperson of the Multi-Party Women’s Caucus, raised concerns that research was silent on the impact of coal mining on women and girls. “We need information around that topic. It is very important.”

Delegates also expressed concern that although literacy rates for the girl child were improving, many still felt alienated in mathematics. The Summit heard that entrepreneurial programmes in Turkey were inclusive, enabling women to take advantage of opportunities. Similarly, China was making strides to reduce its reliance on coal energy.

“The percentage of reliance on coal is declining dramatically. Female experts and scholars have participated in climate change training in China, and a number of projects have been undertaken with women accounting for 32.6 per cent of the trainees.”

The Chinese delegate added that China was supporting Cambodia in its efforts to mainstream gender in climate change initiatives, with a particular focus on rural women.

Dr April acknowledged that JET in South Africa would be complex due to apartheid’s legacy, spatial challenges, poverty, unemployment and ongoing energy constraints. She lamented that only about 32% of women were involved in the energy sector.

Ms Sonja Boshoff, Chairperson of Parliament’s Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, agreed. She noted that women’s low participation in the energy sector remained a critical challenge that needed to be addressed.

Sibongile Maputi
30 September