‘An Urgent Call for Leadership on Climate, Energy and Health in Building a Post-COVID-19 South Africa’ 14 September 2020

I write on behalf of the Climate Energy and Health Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA), a group of public health professionals which was formed in 2017 to advocate for healthy energy policy that protects public health from climate change and air pollution-related diseases in South Africa. In July 2020 we wrote to the Minister of Health, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, and the President asking for strong leadership on climate, energy and health in building a post-COVID-19 South Africa, with special reference to the work of the proposed Presidential Climate Change Commission. A recent response from the Minister of the Environment informed us that the terms of reference of the Commission are still being prepared for Cabinet approval.

A July 2020 report by an alliance of environmental and economic justice organisations (No going back to normal: Imagining a Just Recovery in South Africa), calls for a transformative vision to lead the recovery of our society from COVID-19, which puts people's health first in all policies. Central to this vision is a just energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables in a way that minimizes job losses of energy workers, that allows communities more control over their energy sources, and that prioritizes the restoration and protection of the environment. These initiatives followed an international petition to the leaders of the G20 countries on May 26, supported by over 350 organisations representing over 40 million health professionals and over 4500 individual health professionals from 90 different countries calling for a #HealthyRecovery. They concluded that government investments in health care, transport, energy and agriculture must prioritise health protection and promotion.