Plans to mitigate the effects on major centres {writer: Shaun Meyer}

The interaction between climate change and major cities, and the effect thereof on surrounding environments, has become an important issue, with a greater emphasis by the United Nations on efforts to control or limit emissions of greenhouse gas from cities around the world.

Some countries have taken the lead on this front while others have been slow in responding to the call for awareness of climate change and the dangers it poses.

There has been a host of climate change conferences across the globe over the last few of years where discussions and debates have drawn more attention to the effects of climate change, bringing to light reasonable responses.

Cities and urban areas contribute the most to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, use the most of the world’s energy and tend to have
warmer temperatures.

Cities are most vulnerable and at risk from rising sea levels. Coastal cities often bear the full brunt of destructive storms.

With millions of people based in cities, and with the total global gross domestic product it produces, the impact of climate change on cities has profound economic implications.

“Cities are at the centre of the problem, and given their role as the predominant consumers of energy, they are also a necessary part of the climate change solution,” said Angel Gurría, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“Urban policy-makers should start reshaping their cities’ futures, using better urban planning and policies to reduce energy use, cut greenhouse gas emissions and make their infrastructure more resilient,” she said.

In South Africa, climate change is taking effect slowly while many are still not properly informed of the consequences of a non-response to this phenomenon.

Some of the consequences for cities such as Durban and Cape Town could be quite severe.

Africa will be one of the continents hardest hit by climate change and is already suffering from some of its effects.

We take a look at what South Africa‘s three major cities are doing concerning the issue of climate change:

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the only South African city that is member of the C40 international network – major cities committed to tackling climate change. It is a huge step for Johannesburg and for South Africa, as the lessons learnt and information from the organisation will be shared with other large South African cities such as Cape Town and Durban.

The C40 organisation is committed to stopping environmental degradation in all major cities. All cities involved are networked to participate in and contribute to the continuing climate change debate.

Despite Johannesburg’s inland location, climate change will have a significant impact, affecting the environment, health, community development, and the livelihood of its citizens, and will impact on its infrastructure and the economy.

Scientists project that Johannesburg’s temperature is to increase by 2.3 degrees Celsius during the 2050s and 2060s.

The Highveld region’s weather is expected to become much warmer and humid in future decades, which may mean cooler winters.

The possibility of increased annual rainfall and extreme weather events due to climate change are other factors Johannesburg may have to face.

It is accepted that the world has to prepare for some degree of climate change, including an increase in extreme weather conditions, due to past and present emissions of greenhouse gases and natural long-term climate cycles.

Changing or adapting to the effects of climate change will need to include reducing the city’s carbon footprint and becoming less carbon intensive.

The C40 group consumes 75% of the world’s energy and are responsible for up to 75% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

It believes that contributions by companies and communities to install green-friendly systems could be of great importance.

“The decisions we make today will shape the Johannesburg of the future, from renewable forms of energy to designing energy-efficient buildings to minimise carbon footprint are among the factors that can assist us to beat the harsh effects of climate change.

“The City of Johannesburg realises the importance of acting now for a better future,” says Flora Mokgohloa, executive director of the Department of Environment for the City of Johannesburg.

Cape Town

According to an environmental expert, Cape Town should brace itself for bigger storms that could bring massive amounts of rain as climate change takes hold.

Last year, at the release of the Environmental Policy and Strategy’s report on rising sea levels, Gregg Oelofse, the city’s head of environmental policy, said: ”These temperature increases place our coastal vulnerability as a very real concern that holds multiple implications for our city.”

The report stated that, “The risks associated with sea level rise events can no longer be viewed as something to be addressed in the future, but must be considered as a priority in our immediate planning and management.”

Researchers said that areas “highly vulnerable“ to the rise in sea level included places such as Blouberg, Camps Bay, Kommetjie, Glencairn and the entire Strand beachfront.

“What our model is suggesting, is that what we have seen on our coastline we’re going to see more of into the future as a result of climate change,” said Oelofse.

Predictions for climate change in the Western and Cape regions are that they are to become drier in the future.

“But linked to that is that we’re likely to see that our storms are going to be bigger when they do come,” Oelofse said. “So Instead of having the storms we are used to, where we have drizzly rain for two weeks non-stop, we’ll see bigger storms where we have a massive amount of rainfall in a very short time.”

He added that the bigger the storm, the higher the wind velocity, and the higher the ocean swell that the wind pushes up against the coastline.

Low-lying areas that are vulnerable to extreme flooding will be at most risk, including Strand, Fish Hoek, Milnerton and the boardwalk areas of Sea Point.

“Particularly where coastlines are vulnerable, people immediately think that the best solution is to build a hard sea wall to protect that particular piece of property,” added Oelofse.

“But globally, a study was done that shows only around 60% of hard sea walls actually were effective, and around 18%of them actually made the problem worse.”

Durban

The city of Durban has a clearer understanding of how climate change may affect its citizens and economy, thanks to recent research by Golder Associates.

Leaders in this Indian Ocean port city of some 3.5 million people asked Golder to carry out research on the potential local effect of climate change.

Phase one of the work defined the implications of climate change for the city.

These implications may include increases in insect-borne diseases such as malaria, increase in intensity and frequency of floods and droughts, damage to infrastructure from more extreme weather, and decrease in food security and water availability.

Phase two considered two types of possible responses. One of these involves mitigation or finding ways to reduce the emissions that cause climate change. The other is adaptation, possibly “greening” some areas to attenuate floods or moving people to less vulnerable areas.

Phase three involved developing an integrated assessment model that analyses the relationship between impacts, such as the effect of food insecurity on human health.

For example, Golder’s report stated that one of the staple food sources in the area, maize, may be significantly less viable in the area with a mere two- or three-degree rise in annual temperature, leaving farmers to find an alternative.

Climate change awareness is growing, with more and more countries, cities and communities living a greener lifestyle.

Many still believe climate change is not an issue, but the effects can be seen everywhere as seen through recent violent weather conditions around the world – from floods to extreme blizzards.

Initiatives such as the 40º and UN climate change conferences are major stepping stones, along with initiatives by cities to mitigate the effects as much as possible.

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