Climate change impacting SA’s economic growth - Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the increasing frequency of extreme weather events is as much an economic issue as a scientific and social issue.
Ramaphosa delivered a keynote address at the opening of the National Treasury Climate Resilience Symposium at the CSIR in Tshwane on Monday.
The president’s remarks come as the Western Cape experienced severe storms in the past two weeks while KwaZulu-Natal is battling deadly wildfires.
Ramaphosa told delegates that these types of disruptions have an impact on economic growth.
"These disruptions result in lower tax revenue, of course, and increased expenditure on disaster relief. Also, in healthcare, the people who get injured have to be taken care of from a health point of view, as well as social support for affected communities.
"Having perishable products stuck in the port or in transit for an extended period results in losses for exporters. This, in turn, impacts our agricultural sector in our country.”
In April, the head of the United Nations climate agency warned that humanity only has two years left “to save the world” and called for dramatic changes to curb heat-trapping emissions and financial decisions that prioritise the climate.
Ramaphosa said the countries from the Global South experience the worst of climate change.
"It is critical that we strengthen systems for adaptation and mitigation, build resilience in communities, and accelerate our decarbonisation effects and the pace of the just energy transition. The reality that we must confront is that the carbon intensity of our own economy is not sustainable.”
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