Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
City named as a finalist in C40 Cities Awards
The City of Cape Town has been announced as one of three finalists from
around the world in the Adaptation Category in the C40 Cities Award for its
Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WCWDM)
Programme.
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a network of the world’s
leading cities in international efforts to combat climate change.
The group gives recognition to the successes of cities demonstrating worldleading policies and programmes that reduce carbon emissions and
improve sustainability.
This empowers cities by connecting them and opening a clear channel for
sharing technical expertise and best practice.
It is a tremendous honour for Cape Town to be part of the C40 Cities Group
and to be listed as a finalist in the C40 Awards.
We are extremely proud to be ranked in the group of cities actively
addressing climate change and demonstrating a commitment to a future
that is more energy secure, resource efficient, and resilient to the effects of
climate change.
Our comprehensive Water Conservation and Water Demand
Management Programme is an example of the manner in which cities are
in a unique position to be able to drive initiatives on the ground that steer a
sustainable framework.
The WCWDM Programme is a multi-pronged initiative that has, through
careful management, ingenuity and consumer education, managed to
stabilise the demand on the Western Cape water supply system.
The City committed to the programme in 2007 and it has enabled us,
through resource management and a shared responsibility with residents,
to see the annual water demand growing at 2,3% as opposed to the near
4% recorded in the period just prior to 2011.
As such, the City of Cape Town has established itself as the national leader
in reducing water demand and losses.
The City has achieved water savings of approximately 30% – this despite the
more than 30% increase in population in Cape Town since 2001.
Our water conservation and demand management programme is a key
initiative in our mission to safeguard our resources against the impact of
climate change and to track our progress transparently. This is in line with our
commitment to the Compact of Mayors.
In our shared commitment in the Compact of Mayors, I look forward to
sharing and learning about the innovative policies and programmes being
implemented in other major cities to protect our planet against the harmful
effects of climate change.
The City of Cape Town was also announced as one of 10 cities worldwide to
meet the planning and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors at
the International Climate Week in New York in September.
This saw Cape Town become the first African city to be Compact-compliant
and we have been recognised as a global leader in addressing climate
change.
The 2015 C40 Cities Awards will take place on the evening of 3 December
2015 in Paris, to coincide with COP21.
The winning cities will be announced and recognised on a global scale at
this internationally acclaimed event.