The 28^th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be held from 30 November to 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In preparation of this event, and to support and inform the deliberations that will take place, the University of Pretoria (UP) and the UAE Embassy hosted a panel discussion at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) to take stock of the climate action that has been taken to date, focusing on African business and industry, and what is needed to close the gap.

The COP28 Presidency believes that 2023 will be a crucial year for the annual climate summit, as it will be the first Global Stocktake review since the Paris Agreement in 2015. It will also determine the world’s collective progress towards achieving long-term goals. It will provide an opportunity for the world to progress and plan to achieve the global climate goal of limiting temperature increase to below 1.5 °C.

The panel discussion was hosted by Prof Louise Whittaker, Deputy Dean of GIBS, and led by Prof Barend Erasmus, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The discussion focused on the theme for COP28, “Inclusion”, which aims to bring everyone to the table in a more inclusive process than previous Conferences of the Parties (COPs) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Expert panellists (left to right): Steve Nicholls, Head of Climate Mitigation, Presidential Climate Commission; Tanya dos Santos, sustainability leader and former Global Head of Sustainability at Investec; Prof Barend Erasmus, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; and Dr Jill Bogie, Director of GIBS’s Sustainability Initiatives for Africa.

Prof Erasmus explained that climate action and the associated co-benefits for the transition towards sustainability can be realised through several different, yet related, pathways to impact. “Higher education, and business schools, in particular, provides such a pathway to impact through the combination of training, research and engagement with societal sectors in joint efforts to produce actionable knowledge.” He added that business schools are uniquely positioned for impact.

In his welcoming address, the UAE Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency Mahash Saeed Alhameli, noted that South Africa’s scientific community is working hard to find solutions to climate change. “South Africa plays a pivotal role on the continent in the campaign to address climate change, and develop climate-resistant economies and a just transition, particularly the transition to clean energy development in Africa.”

The panellists included Steve Nicholls, Head of Mitigation on South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission; Dr Jill Bogie, Director of GIBS’s Sustainability Initiatives Africa; Tanya dos Santos, Adjunct Faculty at GIBS in the climate, leadership and sustainability workstream; Prof Guy Midgley, Acting Director for the School of Climate Studies at Stellenbosch University; and Thureya al Ali, Team Lead on the Global Stocktake negotiations at COP28 for the UAE, and the UAE’s climate change special envoy.

They discussed what the Global Stocktake (GST) means for industry in South Africa. The GST is held every five years to assess the global response to the climate crisis, and chart a better way forward, and will form part of COP28. They also tackled questions about the current state of progress towards avoiding dangerous climate change, the relationship between the increase in climate-linked disasters, and whether there is a meaningful global appetite for climate change. Hurdles to achieving the required ambition for climate change were also highlighted.

South Africa’s reflection considered where climate change features in the national discourse, especially in terms of electricity and energy transitions. Adding to the complexity, the developed world is responsible for most of the emissions, and is not delivering on its promises to assist developing economies to transition to alternative and renewable forms of energy.

The Action Agenda and Just Transition were also important points of discussion. Prof Midgley commented that South Africa is facing serious risks, such as declining crop yields, and fast action is needed to create the potential for a future economy. “To achieve a just transition, we need to leverage technology and capital structures to achieve a zero-carbon economy by 2050, but it cannot result in the same levels of unemployment and poverty.”

The panel concluded its discussion by considering what needs to be done, particularly by big business, and the corporate and financial sector. The panellists noted that the financial sector is critical as it impacts across all sectors of the economy, and is under the biggest pressure to lead emission reduction and climate change mitigation going forward. Increasing commitments are needed for projects that are eligible for climate action vehicles such as green and blue bonds. These may include conservation initiatives, such as conservation agriculture, and renewable energy projects that focus on marine and offshore renewable energy, and anti-pollution and marine conservation initiatives.

The agreement reached upon conclusion of the panel discussion, and which would be conveyed to the negotiators who will be attending COP28 in Dubai, is that the world cannot shy away from the global effects of climate change. A fundamental shift is needed in what we produce, how we produce it and how this impacts the environment and our people. Although we cannot solve the climate change crisis, we can work towards changing our behaviour as governments, financial institutions, companies and individuals.

Click here to watch the discussion. (Passcode: M$vXC95S)