UK PACT South Africa announces project portfolio of over £3M

UK PACT South Africa announces project portfolio of over £3 million to support SA Government climate change priorities.

From:

British High Commission Pretoria

Following the launch of the programme’s first call for proposals in South Africa on 10 July 2020, the British High Commission is pleased to announce the allocation of more than £3 million in grant funding to 10 climate change mitigation projects under its UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) Programme.

The projects were selected through a

competitive process and respond to the climate change mitigation priorities of a number of key government institutions, in an effort to support South Africa’s just transition to a low-carbon, inclusive, climate-resilient economy and society. The organisations leading the projects and their partners will build capacity, raise awareness and offer technical assistance to a range of national, provincial and municipal government stakeholders. The projects will be implemented by a number of local and international organisations from the private and non-governmental sector, civil society and academia.

Nigel Casey, the British High Commissioner said:

As host of COP 26 and a long standing development, trade and investment partner, I am delighted that we are launching this range of projects aimed at supporting green, resilient and inclusive economic growth in South Africa. The world is focusing on both climate and COVID-19 recovery and we want to support South Africa to be at the forefront of the movement to build back better.

As COP 26 President Designate, the UK is committed to ensuring that an ambitious and equitable outcome is achieved at Glasgow in 2021. This means attaching equal priority to the three pillars of the Paris Agreement – mitigation, adaptation and finance. Despite the challenge that COVID-19 has brought to all economies, the UK has committed to double its International Climate Finance (ICF) over the next 5 years to £11.6 billion. Through its ICF commitment, the UK can support green recovery efforts in more than 100 countries, including South Africa, and results to date demonstrate the transformative impact that ICF programmes like UK PACT can have.

The selected projects focus on three priority areas of climate change action and greenhouse gas emissions reduction: * Energy: As arguably the most salient challenge confronting South Africa’s energy sector, four projects have been selected focussing on the just energy transition. These projects will support beneficiaries at municipal, provincial and national government levels to formulate energy transition pathways that are inclusive of vulnerable communities, identify new employment opportunities within the green economy and which capacitate various actors in the energy sector to implement low-carbon energy technologies. In addition, two projects have been selected which will work to support the implementation of higher energy efficiency standards in buildings and the uptake of renewable and alternative clean fuels such as hydrogen. * Sustainable Mobility: Two projects will work to support the policy framework set out in the country’s Green Transport Strategy, particularly with regard to ramping up South Africa’s transition towards electric vehicles and low-carbon mobility. * Sustainable finance: Two projects will help drive access to green finance and scale up sustainable investment in South Africa through transparency and climate-related risk management.