Tackling Climate Change Is a National Priority for South Africa – Ramaphosa

 
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA|

LAST week I joined more than 40 world leaders at a climate summit convened by US President Joe Biden to discuss the global climate change effort in the run-up to the next international climate conference, taking place in Glasgow, Scotland in November. 
 
There was a common appreciation that, as the international community, we need to dramatically scale-up our efforts, raise our level of ambition, and support developing countries with the means to implement climate actions. 
 
Even as we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling climate change is a national priority for South Africa. 
 
To fully appreciate the devastating impact of climate change on lives and livelihoods in South Africa one need only look at the prolonged drought in parts of the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape.
 
The coming of the rains last year broke a seven-year drought, the longest in over a