City to highlight climate change mitigation efforts in global campaign

eThekwini Municipality has been selected to participate in the We Love Cities campaign, where they will showcase their efforts made to mitigate the impact of climate change on communities.

This comes as the municipality was shortlisted as a finalist of 700 cities from 69 countries in the One Planet City Challenge by Local Governments for Sustainability- Africa (ICLEI).

The We Love Cities campaign is a collaborative effort between the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and ICLEI which recognises cities that are making bold and substantial long-term efforts to combat climate change.

Dr Luyanda Mafumbu, Deputy Head of the Climate Change Department, said eThekwini is rising to the challenge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and becoming a climate resilient city.

“The city has a strategy that includes short-term targets for 2025 across various sectors, with the aim of reaching climate resilience and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” Dr Mafumbu said.

“The We Love Cities Campaign invites eThekwini residents to vote for the city by visiting its social media platforms from October 1 to 31 and liking and sharing the posts with the hashtag #WeLoveCities @WWFCities.”

During this voting period, the city will be showcasing sustainable, climate resilient actions that are being taken to mitigate the impacts of climate change on communities. It is important to note that climate action is a collaborative effort, and it is only by working together that we will be able to reduce the impact of climate change on communities, Dr Mafumbu said.

He added that the city urges residents, businesses and all stakeholders to act in their own space by being more environmentally friendly in their actions.