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CONSULTED!
Climate Change Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues
in South Africa
Presentation to the UNED Forum MSP
Workshop
28 April 2001
Richard Sherman
Research and Policy Coordinator
Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Partnership
Earthlife Africa Johannesburg
“As we advance the process of fundamentally transforming
our society away from its divided past, we need to tap
into the energies of all sectors of our society.”
“It is part of the health and vibrancy of civil society that
differences can exist and be aired … one has no doubt
that such a debate will explore underlying principles and
points of view and go above and beyond personalities and
sectarian interests.”
Nelson Mandela
Speech at the National Civil Society Conference, April 2001
Multi-Stakeholder Climate Change
Practice in South Africa
South Africa’s National Climate Change Committee
National Multi-Stakeholder Committee
Government: Environment, Foreign Affairs, Energy,
Transport, Water and Forestry, Housing
(Committee for Environmental Coordination)
Business, Industry and Eskom: Chemical Sector,
Mining Sector,
(Business South Africa)
Non-Governmental Organisations: Earthlife Jhb
(South African Climate Action Network)
Community Based Organisations: None Labour:
(Congress of South African Trade Unions)
•Advises the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism
(Director General)
• Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism
(Chair of the Committee)
•Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
•South Africa Cabinet
(Final Decision Maker)
Mandate/Functions
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National Implementation of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change
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Article 4: Commitments
Article 6: Public Education, Awareness and Training
National Communications – Greenhouse gas inventories, country
studies on mitigation, vulnerability and adaptation
Advises on the Global Environmental Facility, Activities
Implemented Jointly Projects and National Clean Development
Mechanism Process
Sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
Multi-Stakeholder Delegations – individual representation
You have been consulted: Avoidable
Pitfalls of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues
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Dialogues as usual (lack of clear work programmes and
implementation procedures)
Confusion of roles/identities/leadership and direction
Compromise for progress / accommodation of diverse
views/approaches
Bureaucratisation of process
Representation: Scientific and Research Community?
Deliverables: Lack of visible progress particularly to those
not involved in the process
Time and diversion constraints for committee members
…pitfalls continued
 Time and diversion constraints for committee members
 Capacity of the State:
 Government unable to respond to sectoral positions
 Continuous changes in the department have often led to a situation
where the NGOs and Business sectors control the majority of the
content
 Capacity of stakeholders/sectors not working, on a daily
basis with the climate change process
 Technical nature of debate disempowers new role players /
non negotiators
 Institutional Memory for government/stakeholders
 Blame from those not getting pleasure from the process –
project developers
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Inter – departmental cooperation/confusion
Poor coordination and process maintenance specialised skills required within government
Resource Availability/needs
Consistency of the role of stakeholders
Rationale/ communication of changes in agreed upon
processes
Familiarity /climate clubs
Roles outside of the stakeholder process
Accountability / acting responsibly
No clear role for monitoring
Too much information – no information at all
Overarching Issues
Comments
Dialogues at the national level are more
suited than at the international level
 Nature of Environmental Governance at a
national level
 Democratic understanding at both national
and international levels
 Entrenchment of conventional wisdom and
practice
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Questions
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Do we follow a sectoral approach to multistakeholder processes or is a centralized overarching
framework with issues based working
groups/committee’s a better option?
How do we benchmark the performance of multistakeholder processes? Measuring effectiveness.
How do we review effectiveness/progress?
Do existing Multi-stakeholder processes serve as the
basis for all other/new processes, at both the
national and international level? Creating consistency
Questions
How do we remove barriers for maximum participation
and effectiveness? Who should do this?
 Representation / mandates – Do we merely represent
entrenched views or are we attempting to move sectoral
views to find a common ground.
 How do we establish relationships of trust and full
disclosure?
 Do Multi-stakeholder processes lead to effective
partnerships between the State and non-state actors?
 Can/ should Multi-stakeholder processes build capacity of
role players?
 What happens after Multi-stakeholder dialogues?
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“One of the outstanding features of these first few years of our
democracy has been the emphasis on partnership. Nation
building, transformation and creation of a better life for all are the
main national task facing us. In each of these interdependent
areas of the national project, we need to forge strong partnerships
across sectors and across the social divides.”
“We can ensure that the energies of civil society are harnessed for
the progress and unity rather than for division and dissipation of
efforts.”
Nelson Mandela
Speech at the National Civil Society Conference, April 2001
UNFCCC
South African Cabinet
Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism
Deputy Minister of
Environmental Affairs and
Tourism
Committee Chairperson
Director General of
Environmental Affairs
and Tourism
Committee for Environmental
Coordination
Director Generals of all
government departments
Lead Agency
Deputy Director General
of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism
Implement
the UNFCC
Head of Climate Affairs
Climate
Change
Secretariat
Governmen
department
National Climate Change Committee
National Multi-Stakeholder Process
Conventional Implementation
NGO
Business,
Industry
Labour
CBO