Durban: Where Global Meets Local

Claire Tighe ’13

Durban, South Africa is the host for the 2011 UNFCCC 17th Conference of the Parties. As a large urban center and coastal city, has Durban taken any actions towards mitigation or adaptation to climate change? Debra Roberts addresses this question in her report, “Thinking globally, acting locally – institutionalizing climate change at the local government level in Durban, South Africa.”

Durban, South Africa, site of UNFCCC COP17 in 2011

As of late, “reasonable progress has been made in Durban in mainstreaming climate change concerns at the local government level [which] holds the potential to unlock endogenous resources and interest in climate change – ultimately making the likelihood of sustainable climate protection interventions greater” (Roberts). Local governments have been able to integrate climate change concerns due to the contextualization of the impacts of climate change on smaller scales. Policymakers in Durban want to know, “What does climate change mean for our city?”

Although the local municipalities have made significant progress towards integrating climate change into their legislation, a wide gap exists between the local and national policymakers. The national efforts of South Africa currently do not reflect what is happening on the local level in Durban and the surrounding area.

In addition, neither scale has seen an emergence of “climate change champions,” as Roberts calls them, have yet to emerge on the political scene in Durban. Strong leaders will help to further this integration of climate change interests into the political realm in Durban. Connecting the need for development in Durban and meeting the demands of climate change adaptation in particular should be a central focus for emerging legislators. Hopefully, they can smartly integrate climate change adaptation and sustainable development in order to build a more resistant Durban.

Source: Debra Roberts. “Thinking globally, acting locally – institutionalizing climate change at the local government level in Durban, South Africa.”