His Worship, Alderman Randall Williams, Executive Mayor of City of Tshwane

The Lord Mayor of London and Chair of C40 Cities, Mr Sadiq Khan

His Worship, Robert Beugré Mambé, Governor of Abidjan & Vice Chair of C40 Steering Committee

Ambassadors and representatives of Foreign Missions

Speaker of the Tshwane Council, Dr Makwarela

Members of the Mayoral Committee from Tshwane and Ekurhuleni

Hastings Chikoko, C40 Regional Director for Africa

Mmaseabata Mutlaneng, Acting City Manager: City of Tshwane

Tumi Mathole, Acting CEO of the Tshwane Economic Development Agency 

Esteemed guests

City-by-City, we are going to combat the adverse effects of climate change that affects us all, whether directly or indirectly. Whether we are part of the developed or developing world we cannot escape the impact of decades of irresponsible activities and policy positions that have negatively impacted our environment and health.

For example, premature deaths from outdoor air pollution in Africa are reported to have increased by 57% in less than three-decades to over a quarter-of-a-million in 2017 with GDP losses of over $215-billion annually. With 55% of global populations living in cities and rising, cities are critical to addressing this challenge.

Programme Director,

As the City of Johannesburg, we held a similar event in June 2021, following the Council adoption of our Climate Action Plan in March 2021; and like the City of Tshwane is doing today, we committed ourselves to changing the world, through deliberate measures, such as the passing of the Green Buildings Policy.

The Green Buildings Policy takes us on a path towards achieving low to net-zero carbon footprints for all new buildings in the City by 2030, while achieving a total net zero performance compliance standard by 2050.

In addition to this, through the A Re Sebetseng (Let’s work together) Mayoral programme we have adopted a community-led approach that says it is not just the role of government to tackle climate change, but it requires us all – government and people – to work together to achieve net-zero carbon performance by reducing, reusing, and recycling waste.

In the City of Joburg, littering alone costs the City R74-million a year, while illegal dumping costs another R80-million. That’s R154-million (or over US $10-million) that could be used to build houses, recruit more police, or install bulk infrastructure services to better the lives of residents and attract investment that creates jobs and job opportunities.

Our just transition to net-zero emissions cannot come at the expense of jobs. Green jobs can provide a meaningful solution to the urgent issues of poverty and inequality by offering employment opportunities which are secure, pay a fair income and offer safe working conditions.

Investing in this space could mean over 340,000 jobs created by 2030, with over 140,000 jobs solely from building more energy efficient homes, schools, and workplaces, in Johannesburg alone. I can only imagine what this means for other cities, including Tshwane.

The City of Johannesburg is taking on-going and active steps, through the energy space as well. Last month we hosted the two-day Joburg Energy Indaba, where we mapped a path towards reliable, affordable, and clean energy that sustains economic activity.

Esteemed guests

Allow me to close with a bit of brag. At the beginning of May, Joburg was announced as the national winner of WWF’s One Planet City Challenge in recognition of our strategy and mitigation targets that focus on the energy, building and transport sectors. South Africa is certainly setting itself up as a leader in climate action.

Programme Director

I would like to wish the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane, Alderman Randall Williams, and his team, all the best on this necessary and worthwhile journey. You have my full support. 

Building net-zero and climate resilient cities by 2050 requires us all to work together.

I thank you.