Nick Hamer (EMG Project Manager) has recently written an expert essay for the South African Presidential Commission on Climate Change.
EXPERT ESSAY
“UNEQUAL WATER ACCESS IN CAPE TOWN AND THE JUST TRANSITION”
SUPPORTING A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT TRANSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA
PRESIDENTIAL CLIMATE COMMISSION - EXPERT SERIES IN PDF
See full article published at: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-04-27-punitive-technocratic-approaches-to-water-management-are-not-a-just-transition-to-equitable-access/
Daily Maverick
The essay considers urban adaptation and water governance in the light of lessons learned from work undertaken by the Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) with communities in Cape Town.
It argues, that, at an international level, the tendency to focus narrowly on the energy transition reinforces climate injustice, with the implicit neocolonial understanding that developed countries can continue to benefit from their historical and current high use of fossil fuels, while developing countries are blocked from exploiting new fossil fuel resources.
The essay considers how water security issues and unequal access to water highlight the need for transformative adaptation. EMG argues that the ongoing failures in access to water and sanitation by poor households indicates the need for a fundamental change in approaches to governance and community engagement. Examples are given of how poor households face a punitive approach to water billing and access, rather than concerted efforts being made to resolve underlying issues that lead to household leaks. A just transition demands that systems be put in place to ensure genuine dialogue between all citizens and government, as was highlighted by an EMG case study in Cape Town.
It is concluded that the just transition has to be understood as the movement to a far more equal society that doesn’t leave the majority of people behind. Currently the reassuring visions of government climate change response strategies tend to remain aspirational and give no clear direction on how governance must and will be changed as a fundamental part of the response
A just transition will require a fundamental overhaul of the way government engages with citizens, so that choices are informed by genuine participatory engagement with them.