KwaDukuza Mayor calls for Global North and G20 nations to fulfil their climate finance commitments

KwaDukuza mayor S’duduzo Gumede has called on stakeholders within the climate action value chain to work together in curbing the impact of climate shifts, underlining climate justice and key interventions at the Town Hall Conference of Parties (COP) today, 17 October 2025.

 

“Let us work together to build a climate smart city that guarantees sustainable development for ourselves and the future where everyone can be safe and thrive”. He was addressing over 200 delegates at the occasion of the Town Hall Conference of Parties where he also highlighted strides over the years in mitigating climate impact, underscoring the interconnectedness of climate effects around the globe.

 

The outcomes of the Town Hall Conference of Parties will feed in to COP 30, that is to be held in November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, through documented lessons, case studies, and policy recommendations. Here are important take-aways from the conference. 

·       The Town Hall Conference of Parties outputs will inform dialogues led by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, ICLEI Africa Local government for sustainability, and South African Local Government Association.

·      KwaDukuza’s experiences contributes to South Africa’s national reporting and showcases how local governments deliver on global priorities such as adaptation, finance, and just transition. 

·      KwaDukuza stands ready to contribute tangible local outcomes that demonstrate the impact of local action on global ambition.

·      Deliberations underscored the urgent need to reform current Municipal Funding Model especially infrastructure development financing model by incorporate a climate change matrix that will ensure government spending has climate action embedded in the application process and conditions.

·      There is a pressing need to reform existing climate finance models to support intermediary cities and small towns. Currently, metropolitan areas receive the bulk of funding despite similar exposure and needs among smaller municipalities. KwaDukuza calls for equitable funding frameworks that recognise our developmental role and readiness, demonstrated through credible projects and transparent reporting. 

·      KwaDukuza embraces the Just Transition to ensure that the shift towards a climate-smart trajectory is inclusiveness and benefits all. This involves protecting livelihoods, creating green jobs, and ensuring equitable access to services. Our approach includes supporting skills retraining for youth and informal workers, embedding social dialogue in planning, and promoting fairness across sectors. This aligns with South Africa’s Just Transition Framework (Presidential Climate Commission, 2022) and COP30’s call for climate justice and inclusion.

·      KwaDukuza Municipality will continue aligning its Integrated Development Plan, Sector Plans and Department Strategies with the national climate agenda and the global priorities of COP30.

Town Hall COP is inspired by the structure of international UN Climate Change Conferences (COPs) and are community-led climate dialogues, designed to deliver global climate goals to create review climate progress and identify actions that address community priorities.

KwaDukuza mayor said KwaDukuza is amongst few of the country’s secondary cities to have made strides on climate action, calling for climate justice for secondary cities, “As we gather in preparation for the country’s third Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0 (NDC 3.0), we are reminded of the values of cooperation and human solidarity that provided us the stamina we needed to traverse the difficult terrain as we sought to achieve our democracy. Today, we have to join forces with the global community as the world prepares for the UN COP 30. We can no longer wait for promises. We are calling on the Global North and members of the G20 to fulfil their commitments towards the Global South on Climate Finance, prioritising cities because that is where the rubber meets the road:, he said.

 

He pointed out the following successes:

·      Over the years, the municipality has developed and implemented policies ranging from response strategies to green procurement.

·      The municipality has mainstreamed Sustainable Development Goals into the IDP, signed a pledge as a commitment to align and implement at least twelve goals.

·      It has maintained a twelve year membership with the ICLEI and it has been renewing its membership every three years, with the most recent renewal in August 2025. ICLEI has been offering technical support which has led to the review of our Greenhouse Gas Inventory in 2022, and recently the Urban Low Emissions Strategy Review adopted in September 2025.

·      The municipality rolls out a host of initiatives, like food gardens, tree planting, awareness clean-up campaigns and EPWP related programmes. 

·      The Municipality has been voluntarily reporting on the Carbon Disclosure Project portal and received a compliant badge for the Global Covenant of Mayors since 2018.

·      The municipality has welcomed transformative projects including the Club Med Coastal Resort, ALPLA Recycling, and new commercial developments which have beefed-up the local economy.

·      Its partnership with the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs has become a cornerstone of climate adaptation as it has received a grant to the value of R 4.2 million for Transformative Riverine Management Programme (TRMP) over a period of three years, creating over 820 short term jobs.

 

Ends

Read the full speech here: https://kwadukuzamayor.blogspot.com/2025/10/address-by-mayor-of-kwadukuza-at-town.html 

Enquiries: Sphe Ngobese | 073 784 7822 | sphelelon@kwadukuza.gov.za