Media statement 15 November 2023
Cllr Cilliers Brink
Executive Mayor of Tshwane
Today, the City of Tshwane kicked-off the two-day inaugural C40 Cities Political Leadership Masterclass on Climate Change Governance at Tshwane House.
The event is fully funded by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and was attended by political leaders and delegates from 12 African cities with a common goal and interest to address climate change and sustainability issues.
During the engagement, I announced the roll-out of the climate budget initiative in partnership with C40 Cities. The City has been steadily working at the inclusion of climate considerations into our capital planning system and now we will take this work to the next level by linking our emissions-reduction targets to actual projects and ensuring that these are prioritised and form part of what will be known as the Tshwane Climate Budget.
This initiative is the only sure way of ensuring that we achieve the noble targets embedded in our Climate Action Plan and form part and parcel of our planning and budgeting system.
In my view, strong political will is vital for meaningful reform and to drive investment into renewable energy, public transport and waste infrastructure.
In the City, we have ensured that climate considerations are incorporated into every possible policy, strategy and plan, down to the level of individual capital projects. In terms of our Climate Action Plan, the City’s administration is bound to always consider the climate in its planning.
Some of the sustainability projects implemented over the years include the following:
- Running a carbon offset programme #Arejwaleng which means “Let us plant” and planting 300 000 trees over the next three years
- Attaining the 5-star green building rating for our headquarters, Tshwane House
- Investing in ten electric vehicles which are used for our messenger services
- Installing the first-ever photovoltaic panels on a City-owned building in Tshwane
- Launching the first 40 South African public transport buses to run on Compressed Natural Gas
As we come from different cities, the masterclass provides an important platform to learn and share best practices and knowledge to advocate for climate action in our respective quarters. I trust that our peers will benefit greatly from our own experiences as we also learn from them.
Our journey on climate action implementation has enjoyed the full support of C40 Cities and I wish to offer our heartfelt gratitude for their backing.
Enquiries: Sipho Stuurman (siphost@tshwane.gov.za)