Heritage Month comes and goes each year, always with much fanfare around celebrating our country’s diverse cultures and history. Yet, many of the government’s proposed energy solutions pose significant risks to human life and the environment, while ignoring customary rights and risking several heritage sites. If not challenged, they will most likely leave communities across the country at a huge disadvantage.
The only hope we have of successfully addressing the climate emergency in a way that empowers and builds our communities without destroying our unique and diverse cultures, is to ensure that people are informed and have a real stake in the just transition. That is why Earthlife Africa is on a mission to energise women, youth and communities towards this ideal.
A transition to more renewable energy sources is the only way South Africa will move to a low-carbon economy, to meet our Paris Agreement commitments in a way that is equitable and fair for our society as a whole. As part of our commitment to promote public participation in discussions around climate change and action, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg has initiated its #EarthlifeDialogues to explore – along with grassroots communities in Gauteng, Eastern Cape and Limpopo – the ways in which the just transition can create decent work, foster social inclusion and eradicate poverty.