Climate Change Research in South Africa

1
Climate Change Research in South Africa

• Presentation to DME Parliamentary Portfolio
  Committee, Cape Town, 28 August.
• By
• MP de Wit, CSIR

2
Overview

• What is climate change research?
• In response to which key issues?
• What are the future trends in climate change
  research?
• The state of research in SA
• Conclusions

3
What is climate change research?

• Includes softer activities such as policy
  advice, client reports, national communications
  and capacity building activities
• Many interlinkages with other research
  programmes, for example energy efficiency,
  biodiversity loss, economic performance, but for
  this report
• Is the primary motivation of the research related
  to climate change?
• If the primary motivation of the research is not
  climate change per se, what realistic part of the
  research is directly related to climate change?

4
Research - in response to which issues?

• Adverse effects on ecosystems, human health and
  welfare
• Adverse effects on economy
• Kyoto Protocol mechanisms

• Technology transfer
• Land use, land use change and forestry
• Capacity building
• Policy development

5
Post Kyoto research agenda

• Increase the reliability of scientific
  predictions
• Complex link between pure research and policy
  making gt policy development

6
State of research in SA institutions

• CSIR Environmentek, Transportek
• DEAT
• DME
• DWAF
• DTI
• Earthlife Africa
• EDRC
• Energy Transf. CC
• Enerwise
• ERI
• Eskom
• IEF

• IFS
• IIEC
• KPMG
• MEPC
• NBI
• Natural Capital CC
• Peer consultants
• Universities
• Wiechers Environmental Consulting
• SA Weather Services

7
State of research key SA issues
8
State of Research national communications
categories
9
Conclusions

• Significant increase in value of research
  activity since Sept 2000
• Relative on policy development and economic
  aspects still small
• Bulk of research work is FCCC compliance driven,
  but changes towards more pro-activeness