Today, I am proud to announce that Cape Town has been recognised as a leading city in the international efforts to combat climate change.
At the International Climate Week in New York two weeks ago, Cape Town was announced as one of 10 cities worldwide to meet the planning and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors.
Cape Town has therefore become the first African city to be Compactcompliant and has been recognised as a global leader in addressing climate change.
We join the cities of Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Melbourne, New York, Oslo,
Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney and Washington DC in presenting ambitious climate action plans ahead of COP21 – the Paris
Climate Conference.
Based on the City’s leading role in energy and climate change initiatives, I have been selected to be a Media Champion for the Compact of Mayors – a global coalition of mayors and city officials pledging to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, enhance resilience to climate change, and to track our progress transparently.
The City of Cape Town recognises that cities are in a key position to steer a lower carbon, more resilient and sustainable future.
We are committed to a future which is more energy secure, resource efficient, and resilient to climate change impacts.
Our journey is supported by Cape Town’s Energy2040 goals and action plan, climate adaptation plans of action, and our commitment to the Compact of
Mayors.
We all have a responsibility to do what we can to protect the environment for future generations and the City of Cape Town has various initiatives and projects in in place to address climate change and lead the way in building a more sustainable city.
The City has met the compliance requirements for the Compact of Mayors through its detailed carbon emissions inventory which is in accordance with the global local government carbon reporting protocol, reporting on energy

and climate projects, and action planning for both climate mitigation and adaptation and commitment to having carbon reduction targets.
In addition, the following are some of the climate change-related projects which have led to Cape Town being recognised as a global leading city in the Compact of Mayors.
The City’s solar water heater accreditation and marketing programme has contributed over R105 million worth of solar water heaters into the economy, has saved more than 18 000 000 kWh, has created a number of jobs and reduced carbon emissions by 18 000 tonnes CO
2
.
This innovative accreditation and marketing programme is part of the City’s
Electricity Savings campaign which aims to reduce city-wide electricity consumption and CO
2
emissions and increase energy security.
Another example of the City’s efforts to increase energy security and reduce electricity consumption and CO
2
emissions was the implementation of the
City’s small-scale embedded generation project whereby households and businesses that use rooftop photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy are able to feed excess solar energy back into the City’s electricity grid.
While we are able to diversify our energy supply with more sustainable sources, these initiatives will also help stimulate the green economy by increasing demand for solar panels.
Our effective water demand management programme has made excellent progress through asset maintenance, leak detection and repairs, tariffs, treated effluent reuse, pressure management and metering.
Since 2007, the City of Cape Town has established itself as the national leader in reducing water demand and losses. Water savings have increased by 30%.
The City of Cape Town was named the 2014 global Earth Hour City Capital based on its energy and climate reporting, competing with 163 cities.
The City’s projects have been profiled on international reporting platforms such as the Cities Climate Registry and Carbon Disclosure Project (both used as reporting platforms for the Compact of Mayors).
The Compact of Mayors reinforces our City’s commitment to our people and our environment.
Through the Compact, we pledge to do all we can and work with key stakeholders to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, create ambitious

climate targets, track progress and enhance the City of Cape Town’s climate resilience.
With consistent reporting of our city’s response to climate change, we will show how our actions can effect real change.
For more information on the Compact of Mayors, please visit the website: www.compactofmayors.org