What came out of COP17?

The 17th Conference of the Parties was held in Durban in December 2011 to assess progress in dealing with climate change and negotiate a path forward that all concerned nations can agree on. This is an annual meeting in which countries negotiate what can be done to reduce our negative environmental impact.

Quite simply, not enough was achieved (in the negotiations) to stop climate change. However, there was a strong sense that the side events of COP were where ‘it was at’. The private sector is not waiting on the global governments to enforce change. Change is happening, but at a glacial pace. The University of Cape Town’s Richard Calland, associate professor and director of the Democratic Governance & Human Rights Unit was a part of a panel answering the question ‘COP17: What happened and what does it mean?’ He suggested that the side events were a ‘Plan B’, but that Plan B was going ahead regardless of whether ‘Plan A’ – an ambitious agreement – was implemented. This further emphasises the seriousness with which the private sector is approaching climate change and the effects on status-quo business.

What did happen though (in negotiations), is that a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol was agreed upon and further, it was decided to negotiate a new agreement by 2015 – a legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force. This new agreement will come into force at the end of 2020. 

‘On an individual and organisational front, since COP17 we have seen a shift in the market with people no longer asking ‘why’ they need to consider sustainability, but rather ‘how?’,’ says Parkes

icologie works closely with the City of Cape Town on energy-saving campaigns among others. According to Parkes, there has already been a shift in mentality by government since COP17. 

‘On a governmental front there is a drive to build a system to gradually transition to a low-carbon future, while also creating jobs and reducing poverty,’ says Parkes.

Adaptation

Over the last decade, there have been a number of natural disasters that have struck fast-developing nations including India, Indonesia, China and Brazil (all in the world’s top-10 emitters of carbon equivalents). The common thread among these countries is the explosively large amounts of carbon they are emitting to facilitate their rapid development. Adaptation is key to sustainability. But ‘adaptation’ is not a negative, restricting term. Adaptation is essentially development – development with a responsible view of the future, one in a low-carbon economy. South Africa is positioned favourably to take full advantage of the mistakes that the aforementioned developing nations have made. In sustainable development lie many opportunities that need to be taken full advantage of. The African continent is on the brink of massive expansion in a predicted short space of time. This expansion needs to be measured and strategic.

Opportunities

Studies are showing that businesses responsibly watching their social and environmental impact are reaping greater financial rewards. Moreover, value for their shareholders is increased. Naturally, this is enabled by superior and more dedicated employees and committed customers. As publics are becoming aware of the need for a more sustainable approach to the environment and social practices by companies, the economic advantage of low-consumption, high-sustainability companies will increase too. Companies failing to adapt and develop sustainability as a core value will soon find themselves at a disadvantage. 

‘Addressing the challenge of sustainability and climate change is no longer a moral imperative but one that is essential from a business perspective. Organisations are being challenged to be smarter in their everyday operations as they face not only economic challenges, but feel the pressures to improve resource efficiency, reduce their environmental impacts and see to the wellbeing of their employees,’ says Parkes.

Energy has long been a concern in South Africa as demand increases and our reliance on fossil fuels escalates. Invest North West has identified opportunities to take advantage of our largely untapped resources namely sun and wind and point out a number of exciting opportunities in this month’s newsletter for those looking to invest in renewable energy. 

The West Coast District Municipality is also taking up the sustainability challenge by highlighting opportunities in wave, wind and solar energy – resources we have in abundance in the Western Cape. Read more about these opportunities here.

Biofuels has been a largely untried industry in South Africa and Enterprise iLembe is looking to rectify this by highlighting a sustainable opportunity with Vuthwa Biofuels. The project emphasis is on sustainable social upliftment and community involvement. Be sure to read more about the opportunity in this issue.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has set up the Green Efficiency Fund aimed at renewable energy projects to improve energy efficiency through reduced energy consumption facilitating South Africa's transition towards a low-carbon economy and 2050 goal to achieve carbon neutrality. The IDC have also released a report indicating the job potential present in a green economy in South Africa. The report indicates the intensity of our carbon reliance and the importance of greening our electricity mix.

President Jacob Zuma is attending Davos 2012 in Switzerland, which began on 25 January, and there is optimism that holistic change from the bottom up will result and will produce innovative strategies that will reconsider the meaning of economic health and comfort. This will hopefully assist in developing a sustainable growth model.

On the back of COP17 and the positive responses from both the South African government and the private sector, the prospects for 2012 are favourable. Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.’ We need to consider how we live in this world and begin to work smart if we want to continue to exist here, because as Oren Lyon says in the 11th Hour, ‘the Earth has all the time in the world, and we don’t.’