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The DA will table a motion calling for the development of a Climate Resilience Strategy at the next sitting of the Nelson Mandela Bay council.

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is the only Metro in the country without a Climate Change Strategy and/or Action Plan. The DA-run City of Cape Town has long realised the need for Climate Resilience and has in place a strategy, an action plan and a well-resourced directorate tasked with equipping the city to be resilient in the face of change.

Today, 5 September 2022, I was joined by DA NMB Spokesperson for Public Health, Cllr Annette Lovemore, in delivering a spekboom to each of the Mayor and the City Manager in celebration of Arbor Week. 

The spekboom is renowned for its ability to absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It is also water-wise and exceptionally resilient, able to adapt to change and extreme conditions.

Spekboom plants, on the desks of the political and administrative leaders of our Metro, will serve as a constant reminder of the call we make today - the call for a Climate Resilience Strategy and action plan for Nelson Mandela Bay.

We find ourselves in the grip of an extended drought and face a flood when it ends. With climate change, conditions such as these will become even more extreme. Nelson Mandela Bay has to face this reality, but, more importantly, it must plan for the challenges ahead.

Climate change holds challenges for the Bay, such as:

• high winds
• coastal storm surges
• coastal erosion
• ecosystem changes
• sea level rise
• higher and lower temperatures, and a more extreme climate
• longer drier spells, with water scarcity a regular fact of life
• increased fire risks
• devastating flooding

The Bay must be ready. Even more than that, it must contribute to lowering the risk. Green lungs, such as the Baakens Valley, must be conserved. Emissions must be controlled and fossil-fuel energy must become a thing of the past. Tourism and economic development must adapt to take advantage of the changes, rather than be devastated by them.

Let’s get NMB working again.

Issued by Cllr Retief Odendaal - DA NMB Mayoral Candidate