Climate Change
Increasing droughts and heat waves will create multiple challenges. Environmental degradation contributes to worsening the environment and peoples’ resilience. Water resources are over allocated and polluted. Inadequate and deteriorating infrastructure means many communities have limited access to piped, reliable, clean drinking water are fenced out of the banks of water bodies and subjected to sewage pollution.
This impacts health, food security, cultural practices and gender relations. Small-scale farmers struggle to find arable land and are unable to water crops or sustain livestock. Traditional healers, churches and fishers are unable to access water bodies for cultural and livelihood practices, and women bear the burden of health impacts and water collection.
Just Transition:
EMG participated, with other Southern Hemisphere civil society organisations to advocate for developing world concerns to be centred in Just Transition implementation. The process was facilitated by Solidar, with the support of the Olof Palme Centre and IFWEA.
United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change:
IN 2024 EMG participated UNCCC side events and made representations at the the twenty-first session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 21) we also participate in other structures related to UN Climate change including forums like UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
Presidential Climate Commission (PCC)
Contribute to discourse around Climate change including a chapter on Unequal Water Access in Cape Town and the Just Transition in the PCC’s Expert Essay book. We also present at various conferences on issues related to climate change, just transition, water and agroecology.
National Policy Engagement
Through community action research work we often link grassroots challenges to policy engagement, either as an organisation or through our membership in National water and agroecology networks. In these ways we engage in policy issues related to Climate Change and Adaptation.
Annual Ecopolitics School
We run an annual Ecopolitics School
Climate Action
We work with youth in 4 schools in Mfuleni. They advocate for Climate Action and regularly participate in awareness raising activities, like murals at their schools, collaboration with other organisations like ACA and Africa Unite. Students also undertake educational field trips, river and beach cleanups, tree planting and hold activities like recycling fashion shows, all of which complement their learning and provide new perspectives on the environment in fun ways.
Local Adaptation
We engage on an ad hoc basis with local climate change issues, involving water and agroecology. This engagement includes working with other NGO’s, organisations and departments linked to municipalities and provincial government on Environmental issues.
Climate change underlies the focus of our Water and Agroecology work, for more information have a look at our projects under water and agroecology