Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is set to receive technical assistance from international development institutions to explore two awarded projects that would help develop its climate change adaptation projects into bankable investment proposals and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
This was being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the C40 City Finance Facility (CFF).
The first project supported its Liveable Urban Waterway and Green Infrastructure programmes (valued at R10 million), and the second project supported its energy efficiency and renewable energy generation programmes (particularly its solar photovoltaic/PC projects) to help Cape Town achieve carbon neutrality.
The technical assistance for both projects allowed the City appoint senior project advisers to oversee and help the respective projects reach their individual goals.
Water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien added that this partnership would develop a green infrastructure investment case to help the city become more resilient to floods and a changing climate, and enhance the health of catchment areas. The second project was being implemented by the Energy Directorate.
Energy Mayco member Beverley van Reenen said at least 30MW of renewable generation capacity needed to be developed with a minimum 18% reduction in energy use by 2030 to be carbon neutral in the City building portfolio, and to this end they were pursuing an energy efficiency programme and renewable energy generation through rooftop and groundmounted solar PV projects.
This initiative was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, the government of the UK and the Agence Française de Development (AFD).
AFD project manager Zoé Penfold said the impact of climate change on cities was going to become more and more important in the years to come, and cities, as places concentrating people, industries and infrastructure, were particularly vulnerable. Thus AFD was happy to be part of this initiative to support these projects in the city.
Stop CoCT founder Sandra Dickson said the lack of transparency and information to the public from the City around its goals and efforts to become carbon neutral, and the cost of these efforts, was disappointing.
Dickson said the lack of public participation around the implementation of these efforts was of concern to ratepayers, on whom these decisions had a direct effect.