Cape Town Climate Week got off to a wild start on Monday with a breakfast of indigenous and foraged foods followed by an exhibition on energy justice organised by Project 90 by 2030, one of the partners in the weeklong events “to showcase solutions for climate and social injustices”.
“When we talk about food justice we are talking about water justice, gender justice and energy justice. That's why Cape Town Climate Week was born. Our fight for any form of justice cannot be won alone, it needs to be won together,” said Gabriel Klaasen of Project 90 and programme manager at the African Climate Alliance. He opened the event at Community House in Salt River at the exhibition on energy justice and practical energy-saving solutions.
Gillian Parenzee, who founded Nuture Colab, and her chef son Carmel on Monday prepared gourmet vegetarian dishes out of wild and sustainable ingredients such as buchu, Kei appel, ice plant and Karoo Koenibush. The family make a living in Barrydale from ethical food systems.
The third Cape Town Climate Week which runs until Saturday, with New York Climate Week and global climate protests, is about sharing grassroots solutions to systemic problems and everyone is encouraged to join the daily activities.
“We welcome people from across the city to get their hands dirty in food gardens, cycle through neighbourhoods they may have never spent time in, learn about energy resilience and attend a teach in on a train — all with the hope that being united in grassroots action will turn this inertia into inspiration and then action,” said the youth-led African Climate Alliance, which is leading the programme, on their website.
Western Cape premier Alan Winde on Monday expressed support for Cape Town Climate Week while joining world leaders at the annual New York Climate Week to explore ways to increase collaboration “across all levels of government for adaptation and mitigation action” to tackle the climate crisis and interconnected injustices.
Winde is the incoming co-chair for a global network of more than 270 subnational governments, called the Under2 Coalition, which are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
The Western Cape has a Climate Change Implementation Plan: Vision 2050, which informs the province’s strategic planning and budgeting cycle now under way, said Wouter Kriel, spokesperson for local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell.
Bredell encourages stakeholders in Cape Town to engage in collective action during Cape Town Climate Week, he said. The themes of the programme are energy justice, water justice, food justice, spatial justice, gender justice and global solidarity.
We welcome people from across the city to get their hands dirty in food gardens, cycle through neighbourhoods they may have never spent time in before
— African Climate Alliance
One of the events is a mass cycle to Langa on Thursday organised by Langa Bicycle Hub, which was a success last year.
“Cycling is not just a mode of transport; it's a movement towards climate justice. Each pedal stroke reduces emissions, connects communities and paves the way for a greener, more equitable future,” said hub founder Mzikhona Mgedle.
Project 90 by 2030, Fossil Free SA, PHA Food & Farming Campaign, Mzanzi Organics, Langa Bicycle Hub, Unite Behind, Ndifuna Ukwazi, Hotspot Series, GRIT (formerly Kwanele SA), Rainbow UCT and Triangle Project are the partner organisations running the programme.
Buhle Booi, political organising head at Ndifuna Ukwazi, said: “Where someone lives and the condition of their home has a major impact on how they experience climate change, disasters and extreme weather events.
“Sustainability and resilience are central to the quality, livability and long-term positive impact of housing. However, we are yet to see this acknowledgment filter into housing discourse and practice in South Africa. This needs to change urgently.”
About 15km from Langa is the 3000ha Philippi horticultural area where fresh, affordable vegetables are farmed — even during the 2018 drought and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Philippi horticultural area will also supply the city with potable water but your food and water is under threat,” said chairperson Nazier Sonday, urging people to visit the project and see their challenges.
On Monday night the documentary Temperature Rising was screened at Community House celebrating the people fighting for climate justice and sustainable solutions. The directors, Anita Khanna and Jacqueline van Meygaarden, said: “We wanted to show their struggles and to help them reach people.”
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