Programme director, Mr. Arabile Gumede;
Acting Director-General of the DSTI, Ms. Gugulethu Zwane;
Chairperson of the TIA Board, Mr. Loyiso Tyira;
Members of the TIA Board;
Acting CEO of TIA, Mr. Ismail Abdoola;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
UNIDO Representative and Head of UNIDO in South Africa, Mr. Masera Diego;
Network for Global Innovation (NGIN) representatives;
Chairperson and members of the GCIP-SA’s Project Steering Committee;
Esteemed awardees;
Distinguished guests:
Ladies and gentlemen:
Thank you for the honour of inviting me to come and speak at this prestigious event that celebrates the hard work and ingenuity of some of our country’s most gifted innovators. As part of my address here tonight, I wish to reflect on four critical issues.
Global context
The first is the challenges of our time. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) observes that “Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production have led to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste”
This triple planetary crisis has presented humanity with an unprecedented set of new challenges, whose impact is mainly felt in the Global South. The impact of this crisis has resulted in such environmental problems as intensifying extreme weather events like droughts, floods, heatwaves, and storms, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and human lives.
We are seeing melting glaciers and thermal expansion of water contribute to rising sea levels, threatening coastal communities and ecosystems. Related to this is the rise in global temperatures that has led to changes in precipitation patterns, shifts in ecosystems, and increased risks to human health.
While this has had a profoundly devastating impact on the environment resulting in biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, deforestation, species extinction and the disruption of ecosystems- the impact on the social and economic well-being of human beings has been equally debilitating.
We have seen how this triple planetary crisis has exacerbated food insecurity by disrupting agriculture through droughts, floods, and changing growing seasons, which has reduced crop yields, and impacting fisheries- leading to food shortages and malnutrition.
Then there is the displacement of populations, especially as a result of extreme weather events and rising sea levels and how this has increased the risk of respiratory diseases, waterborne illnesses, heatstroke, and other health problems.
As a consequence, affected populations have also experienced immeasurable economic suffering such as loss or damage to personal property, damage to infrastructure, reduced agricultural productivity, and increased healthcare costs.
The displacement of populations and the destruction of water and food sources has increased the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and in some cases leading to suicide.
Unsurprisingly, this multidimensional impact of the triple planetary crisis has not just exacerbated social inequalities but has also led to conflicts over resources among native populations.
The South African context
The second issue I wish to reflect on is the impact of the triple planetary crisis in South Africa. Like many of other parts of the world, South Africa has not been immune to the impact of the triple planetary crisis. South Africa it also now increasingly wrestling with such challenges such as water scarcity, air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, land degradation and extreme weather events.
This makes the need to develop climate resistant/ resilient infrastructure even more urgent. All of this impact on human health, livelihoods, and the environment and in our context, the social impact of the triple planetary crisis is exacerbated by the unacceptably high levels of inequality in our country.
DSTI’s response to the triple planetary crisis
The third issue I wish to reflect on is our department’s contribution to the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. As part of the national response to the triple planetary crisis, our department’s Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation emphasises several thematic priorities, one of these is the need to address the grand societal challenge of climate change.
Over the years, our department has been actively addressing climate change through among others, research, innovation, and funding, focusing on areas like renewable energy, drought-resistant crops, and the hydrogen economy and aiming for a just transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
More specifically, in 2007 Cabinet approved our Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Research, Development and Innovation Strategy or (HySA Strategy).
The vision of our HySA Strategy is to use local resources and existing knowledge to create crucial knowledge and human resource capacity, enabling the development of high-value commercial activities in hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
Through the HySA Programme, our department has made a significant contribution towards the creation of a Hydrogen Economy in South Africa. This has been achieved through the creation of knowledge, technological expertise, and human resources development.
Then in 2022, we launched the Hydrogen Society Roadmap, which seeks to unlock the potential of new sources of clean energy to facilitate a just transition from a carbon-intensive to a carbon neutral economy. Related to this, we have also registered the Hydrogen Valley Programme with Infrastructure South Africa under Strategic Integrated Projects in December 2022.
Additionally, in 2024, we launched a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology demonstration at Kelvin Power Station in Kempton Park, showcasing CoalCO2-X technology. As you may be aware, Carbon capture reduces emissions, which results in reduced carbon tax for industries dependent on coal power.
These are but some of the climate change-related interventions that we are making as a department as part of our country’s response to the triple planetary crisis.
Strategic importance of the GCIP
The fourth and final issue I wish to reflect on is the strategic importance of the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP). As I understand it, the GCIP seeks to create a conducive and enabling environment for the emergence, deployment, and adoption of cleantech solutions in the long term, thus enabling low and middle-income countries to leapfrog to greener economies.
Furthermore, the ultimate mission of GCIP is to contribute to climate change mitigation through greening the existing industries and creating new innovative solutions while also delivering other social and economic co-benefits.
The GCIP also provides SMMEs, especially in low and middle-income countries, with the necessary support to contribute to the development of development and deployment of cleantech solutions.
The GCIP therefore supports the goal of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C over the course of the century, requiring significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and the attainment of the net-zero target by 2050.
Most importantly, the objectives of the GCIP align perfectly with those of South Africa’s “Just Energy Transition" (JET) programme. Through the Just Energy Transition programme, we seek to reduce our country’s reliance on fossil fuels, focusing on decarbonising key sectors like electricity and developing green hydrogen and electric vehicles, while ensuring a fair and inclusive transition for poor and working-class communities.
Furthermore, we also seek to migrate South Africa's economy from fossil fuels to cleaner energies, aiming to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets of reducing carbon emissions to 350-420 megatonnes of CO2 by 2030.
In conclusion, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change asserts that “We cannot address climate change without technology. Moving forward, technology will play an even more significant role as we pursue efforts, through the Paris Agreement, to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.”
In how it is structured, the GCIP combines entrepreneurship with climate innovation and therefore, it responds to the call by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to use technology in our efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.
However, it is important to remember that the application of technology or science to solve the problems of humanity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It always takes place within a particular historical, social, economic, and political context.
This therefore means that, in order to be effective and sustainable, our efforts to use technology or science to mitigate the impact of climate change- must also include the interrogation of the impact of the hegemonic political and economic systems within which the world operates today.
Finally, I wish to commend the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), for the manner in which they have been managing the South African Programme (GCIP-SA).
The results of this Programme are truly commendable. Congratulations to all those who will be recognised here tonight. I wish you well as you proceed to the international stage of this programme. Congratulations to the finalists and all the best for now and for the future.
