To kick off Cape Town’s second annual “climate week”, more than 20 cyclists rode from Mowbray to Langa township in drizzly weather on Monday. The fleet of orange bikes and riders in luminous vests stood out against grey skies, drawing attention to the African Climate Alliance’s work for climate justice.
The alliance organised the weeklong event around themes — Monday’s was transport — in collaboration with multiple partners such as the Langa Bicycle Hub, which provided bikes and marshals for the young cyclists on the 8km route.
Riding past the polluted Swart River in Athlone, where piles of rubbish have been dumped on the banks, demonstrated the gap between waste collection services on the Cape Flats and Cape Town’s cleaner suburbs.
Mitchell Mhaka, alliance programme manager, said: “We are living in two cities in Cape Town and on the Cape Flats you see the reality. I’m not thinking about ice caps and polar bears which I’ve never seen when I speak about climate justice, but about our realities [such as] the differences in service delivery.
“There is no climate justice without social justice,” she said, raising the example of safe transport for all. “People need to be able to travel safely on the train to work. When I was in primary school, I would take the train and it was safe.
“If we work on these things together we will bring about change. We want to raise awareness and get people, organisations and business to be part of the solution.”
The community spirit in Athlone and Langa was visible on the roads we cycled — people pushing a stalled taxi, carrying a dog across a busy intersection and school pupils calling out they wanted to ride. “Take me with you,” said an auntie in curlers, waving in support.
Mzikhona Mgedle, the founder and MD of Langa Bicycle Hub, said: “We are teaching people how to ride bikes to encourage non-motorised transport. Let’s commute as a collective.”
“Peace. Rights, Justice” were at the heart of a mural we passed on the Strandroos block of flats in Athlone and — after crossing the N2 on a bridge — into Langa, the Langa Indoor Sports Centre stood out with its striking murals while bus shelters had mosaics with sporting and other emblems.
I’m not thinking about ice caps and polar bears which I’ve never seen when I speak about climate justice.
— Mitchell Mhaka, African Climate Alliance
The ride ended at the Langa Civic Hall with participants talking about their experiences before catching a taxi from the rank back to the starting point.
Gabriel Klaasen, from the alliance and Project 90 by 2030, said they would hold events every day until Friday on the various themes — transport, energy and water, food, finance and artivism — across the city to involve as many people as possible in actions from food gardens to banner painting.
The Langa Bicycle Hub, Project 90 by 2030, Environmental Monitoring Group, Feed the Future, Mzanzi Organics, Fossil Free SA, Clean Creatives, Generation Africa, Fair Finance Coalition SA, Just Share, Climate Lounge and Bertha House are among the organisations working with the African Climate Alliance towards a “just and sustainable future”.
The Cape Town climate week follows the first Africa Climate Week in the first week of September in Nairobi, Kenya. This event attracted 10,000 people from governments, the private sector and civil society and other organisations to brainstorm “climate solutions”.
About 20 African heads of states were concurrently attending the Africa Climate Summit which, ahead of COP28, explored country commitments to “renewable energy, sustainable land use and innovative climate technologies”, according to the UN environment programme.
“In Africa, we can be a green industrial hub that helps other regions achieve their net-zero strategies by 2050,” Kenyan President William Ruto told delegates at the summit. “Unlocking the renewable energy resources we have in our continent is not only good for Africa, it is good for the rest of the world.”
UN environment programme executive director Inger Andersen said the climate week showed Africa’s commitment “to accelerate action on adaptation and finance and to deliver climate justice”.
At a grassroots level, the African Climate Alliance and its partners in South Africa are determined to turn words into action through initiatives such as the Cape Town climate week.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.