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- This is a critical decade for us to take action to limit the extreme impacts of climate change and ensure a sustainable future for all.
- Improving climate literacy – knowing what causes climate change and how to respond is a key part of making a difference.
- Using your voice and being an active citizen is important to hold decision-makers accountable, say activists.
- For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future.
As the planet's temperature warms, extreme weather events like the three-year Cape Town drought or the devastating floods that took over 400 lives in KwaZulu-Natal will become more frequent.
However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the world's most authoritative climate science body, in its latest report, has highlighted that this is a decisive decade to take steps that ensure a sustainable future for all.
This was echoed by climate scientist and co-author of the IPCC's sixth assessment cycle report Dr Chris Trisos at News24's On The Record event in Cape Town this past week.
"This is a critical decade for action. Actions and choices we make in this decade will have impacts for us," Trisos said.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, by stopping the burning of fossil fuels will be key, he added.
"We are at a critical point in human history where we have the responsibility and opportunity to make changes," said Trisos.
READ | ON THE RECORD | Gear up for more extreme weather events, climate experts warn
Trisos was joined by climate justice and human rights activist, Kumi Naidoo, youth commissioner on the Presidential Climate Commission Ayakha Melithafa and Nedbank's head of sustainable finance solutions within NCIB, Arvana Singh. They each shared how different role players in society can respond to the crisis.
Here is what you can do:
1. Create awareness
Youth activist Melithafa shared that everyone has the responsibility to share the knowledge they know about the climate crisis and create awareness about the problem among young people.
Melithafa's family has felt the impact of the crisis directly. Her mother's small-scale farm was affected by Cape Town's Day Zero drought. She recalled her livestock and crops were lost. "It was very painful to watch. My mum does not only provide for us as the family, but she provides for the community as well. For her to turn away people that needed help was hard for me to watch because my mum does not only provide for us as the family, but she provides for the community as well," said Melithafa.
This experience launched her mission to educate marginalised communities and young people about climate change. Being informed is a key step in being able to deal with the crisis, she stressed.
Singh shared that individuals can also make an impact by raising awareness in their communities or places of work. "A lot of small actions put together could actually result in meaningful impact," Singh added.
Nedbank also raises awareness with corporate clients on the risks associated with climate change and the potential opportunities, which can also help influence business decisions, Singh said.
2. Be an active citizen
Melithafa also shared the importance of participating in public policymaking about climate change.
"Seek more information on climate change to add your voices. There is a lot of policies being released …" said Melithafa. The Presidential Climate Commission also holds consultations on issues like the just energy transition, which the public should be participating in.
"Our responsibility is to be active citizens in South Africa, and take up our part to make sure our planet is good and the future of young people is secured. We all have a voice and responsibility. It is time we take it seriously."
Naidoo echoed these views. "What is the biggest contribution to make as citizens, is to use your voice and your power," he said.
3. Make sustainable lifestyle choices
Melithafa also highlighted actions in daily life, like refusing single-use plastics and adopt recycling.
Plastic pollution almost doubled between 2000 and 2019, from 234 million tonnes to 460 million tonnes, AFP reported. The G7 (which consists of the US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Canada) recently committed to zero plastic pollution by 2040.
Forestry Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has also raised concerns over environmental pollution caused by plastic. Government is considering pricing waste to encourage more recycling and limit dumping as landfills reach their capacity.
"We are very concerned with the extent of illegal dumping in our country, and also environmental pollution, particularly the leaching of plastics from the environment into the sea," Creecy told News24 previously.
Apart from harmful environmental impacts, landfills also release emissions such as methane - another greenhouse gas that causes climate change.
4. Become climate literate
"The best insurance policy for our children is to educate yourself fully about the threat of climate change and become a climate activist," he shared.
Naidoo explained that continuing to rely on fossil fuels would see warmer temperatures to the point that our water resources would be gone and we would not be able to grow food. "The end result is, we will be gone and the planet will still be here. And the good news is, when we become extinct as a species, the forests will recover, the oceans will revive and so on."
Climate action is important for the survival of future generations, he emphasised. "This is about whether we have the courage to protect our children and their children's future," Naidoo added.
Trisos similarly shared the importance of becoming "climate literate". This means knowing what causes climate change, what the consequences are and what are the options to act.
"Becoming climate literate is crucially important and our rates of climate literacy in South Africa are quite low, often less than 50%," he said.
Trisos shared that everyone in society has a role to play – including government and the private sector. "Everyone has to play their part."
