Parliament, Sunday, 5 February 2023 – The residents of Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga believe that there is a need for extensive public awareness and education about the impact of climate change and the just energy transition initiative.
The residents told the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, during public hearings on the Climate Change Bill that took place yesterday in Nkangala District Municipality, that there was a lot about the subjects of climate change and the just energy transition that the public does not know.
A majority of participants supported the Bill saying that it was long overdue and that it would help ensure environmental safety especially in the district which has hundreds of coal mines and related industries that contribute to the pollution of the environment.
There was a concern about the slow pace at which people are taught about the importance of saving the planet, and how the effects of climate change will impact on the lives of ordinary people.
The committee also heard that it was not only greenhouse emissions from big industries that contribute to global warming, but also from small scale polluters like people who throw garbage in rivers and those who burn refuse in their backyards.
The Acting Chairperson of the committee Ms Nqabisa Gantsho welcomed the submissions. She said: “What is coming out strongly is that the mining industry in this province and the petrochemical plants are the biggest polluters of the environment in the province.”
The Bill seeks to enable the development of an effective climate change response and a long-term, just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy and society for South Africa in the context of sustainable development.
Today the committee is holding public hearings in Ehlanzeni District Municipality.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE ACTING CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND ENVIRONMENT, MS NQABISA GANTSHO.
For media enquiries or interviews with the committee Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Sakhile Mokoena
Cell: 081 705 2130
Email: smokoena@parliament.gov.za
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