South Africa is to be part of an exciting capacity-building project funded by the EU – to look at experiences gained with implementation of climate change policy in four large developing countries: Brazil, China, India and South Africa. This project, whose proper title is ‘Linking national and international climate policy: capacity building for challenges ahead for Brazil, China, India and South Africa, is known as ‘BASIC’ for short (which stands for Brazil, Africa South, India and China). Its aim is to draw lessons and insights from the institutional processes followed in these countries and from experiences with the implementation of specific climate policies – and to share this information between the countries in the study. The hope is that this knowledge sharing will then help to strengthen in-country capacity o determine what kind of climate change action best fits with their national circumstances, interests and priorities.

The study is being carried driven by several partners: the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex (UK), The World Resources Institute (Washington, USA), Ecofys Consultants (Netherlands), Warnock International India (WII) and several Chinese partners, led by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. The project team is wider, drawing in additional expertise from each of the countries in the study. South African participants in this team include the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Sub-directorate on Global Climate Change), South-South-North, Palmer Development Group, Imbewu Enviro-legal specialists and the Energy Research Centre in Cape Town.

The project, which started in early 2005, involves three core components:

• Strengthening in-country institutional capacities
• Strengthening analytical capacity to analyze and put forward future action proposals and understanding others’
• Strengthening the negotiating skills of existing negotiators as well as training new-comers

These three components will be achieved through the implementation of 5 core tasks, each of which is fulfilled by a team within a particular country. Lessons and insights learned through the core tasks will then be disseminated to the wider project team through a series of workshops to be held between Sept 2005 and September 2006.

The tasks are :

1. Energy, mitigation and sustainable development: linking modelling to policy (China team)
2. Adaptation, vulnerability and finance: assessment tools and approaches (India Team)
3. Policy Coherence and institutional coordination: clarifying institutional responsibilities - including for the CDM (South Africa Team)
4. Designing international climate policy and enhancing negotiation skills (Brazil Team)
5. Creation of developing country expert group or other institutional mechanisms to bring together developing country representatives and climate policy expertise on a long-term basis (Future Options Team).

The South African ‘task’ within the project will involve examination of : national climate change committees, institutional and market design issues around the CDM, international legal and institutional issues.

 For information on the South African ‘task’ and its implementation contact: Mike Goldblatt at Palmer Development Group mike@pdg.co.za Tel 011 484 9992

New climate change staff at DEAT

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April saw the arrival at DEAT of additional staff dedicated to climate change issues. Shirley Moroka now heads up the Sub-Directorate for Climate Change and is assisted by:

Smangele Mguuba – Assistant Deputy Director:

Communication and Awareness Raising. As well as dealing with increasing the awareness of government and citizens on climate change issues, Smangele  takes responsibility for driving forward activity on capacity building and on Vulnerability and Adaptation to climate change. The future running and development of this website also falls within Smangele’s job description.

Smangele spent the last two years as an environmental scientist at the CSIR and has also two years experience as a teacher. She has both Honours and Masters degrees from the University of the Witswatersrand. Her Masters degree focused on climate change, risk, vulnerability and mitigation. Brigit Thovhakale – Assistant Deputy Director: Inventory, Emissions and Mitigation. Brigit will be responsible for coordinating work on preparation of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory for South Africa and for other work and policy on emissions and mitigation.  Brigit joins the department from the South African Weather Service where she worked as a Meteorologist for two years. Prior to that she studied at the University of Pretoria where she gained her Honours Degree in Meteorology.

Brenda Thahlamohlaka joins the Sub-Directorate as Environmental Officer.