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During a session addressing the narrow road for solutions to reach net-zero emissions at the 1.5 Degree Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, panellists agreed that it was time to stop preaching to the converted in a bid to drive the commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Mokena Makeka, Strategy Advisor at Dalberg, led the panel discussion and said that it was time to look at ways to widen the road to net-zero and find civic solutions by Africans, for Africans.
Currently, Makeka says, the net-zero agenda is targeted towards corporates in many respects. Still, discursive contexts need to seek ways for all players to benefit and be part of the net-zero transition.
Kavita Pema, the Group Head of Sustainability and ESG at AECI Limited, a South African chemicals group, doubled down on this sentiment, saying that the net-zero mindset is preaching to the converted. For the climate change agenda to be successful, however, it needs to be mainstreamed and brought into daily conversation.
"We need actually to pass the message on to a wider audience. We need to get the word out there in a much more serious light," Pema commented. "Were in that decade of action, and that is why we sit with the 2025 and 2030 timelines... 2050 is a little bit
distant, and I think that is the danger."
Time to wake up and end greenwashing
As Pema pointed out during the panel discussion, Africa has massive climate challenges. The continent feels the effects of climate change most intensely, evidenced by ongoing floods, droughts and extreme weather events. Yet the action, funding and
commitments are the lowest in Africa.
"Internationally, there were a lot of commitments during COP27. Funding was made available... nice things were said, but where is the action that follows up on that?" Pema asked.
Therefore, in trying to achieve milestones in the short-term, one panellist, Stephen Horn, Country Director at Clean Creatives, said that the industry needs to make the urgency of climate mitigation known and end greenwashing.
"We forget who are the bad actors in the room, and that is the fossil fuel industry. They are the guys driving us over the edge. So we need to think about that and not be afraid to call that out," Horn said. "If youre not [Paris agreement] aligned and youre not IEA-aligned, which says no new [fossil fuel] infrastructure is needed, then you need to change your fundamental business model." |
