SA must be sensible about climate change, says new environment minister Dion George

Newly appointed minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment Dion George takes over the portfolio in the midst of a global climate change crisis. 

Climate change and the just energy transition to a low carbon economy will be key elements of his work and he will be working closely with the Presidential Climate Commission. 

George believes SA has to move in the right direction of reducing emissions and respect international protocols but insists that “it is not fair to punish us”. 

“We are an emerging economy with a lot of complexities and we must not be pushed around. We have to balance economic growth, jobs and community upliftment with our need to be a sensible partner in the world as we fight climate change,” George said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We are 100% committed to that but it is a journey for us and we are only able to move at the pace that we are capable of moving bearing in mind the constraints that we have. The pace has to be a sensible one that works for us also.” 

Although his background is in finance, and he had the option to be deputy minister of finance, the 58 year-old George chose his portfolio as something new and innovative and one in which he could make the most difference by setting the direction. 

Green Connection head of strategy Liz McDaid hoped George would bring new perspectives to environmental protection and be less slanted towards “moneymaking interests” than his predecessor Barbara Creecy. Green Connection is an NGO involved in social and environmental justice in Africa. 

George said he was excited about his new position. “There is lots I can do and value that I can add. I have a lot of experience that I think can be very useful in my new portfolio. A fresh pair of eyes is often a good thing. I think I bring an outsider’s perspective.” 

He noted although he would be working closely with the ministers of energy and finance, he would have a huge role to play in attracting climate finance, an area in which his experience in finance could be brought to bear. 

Also important will be biodiversity and the conservation of SA’s natural resources such as animals, marine assets, fisheries and forests. George said a balance had to be found between the need for development and the effects on the ecosystem and coastal fishing communities that rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. 

A key focus will be creating sustainable jobs and how to leverage the country'’ natural resources to lift the economy in a sustainable manner. This would include assisting fishing communities along the coast. 

George believed Creecy had run a good department. 

George worked in the financial services industry before he came to parliament, doing his doctoral thesis on the conversion of defined benefit pension funds to defined contribution funds. He also has an MBA from Wits University. 

In 2006 he became a councillor in the City of Johannesburg and served there for 18 months before being transferred by the DA to parliament. He was an MP from 2008 until 2015 and then again from 2018 to date. While in parliament he served for many years on the finance committee as well as the standing committee on public accounts and the standing committee on the auditor-general. He is the DA's finance committee chair. 

McDaid welcomed a new environment minister. She hoped that under his leadership the environmental authorisations for oil and gas exploration drilling off the coast would come to a halt. “We are hoping that the new minister will have a better grasp of the benefits of the sustainable use of the ocean.” 

The job of the new minister she said was not to prop up environmentally destructive and extractive activities but to stand up for future generations and for those whose livelihoods depend on the ocean. 

McDaid stressed the minister had to ensure that SA became climate resilient. 

ensorl@businesslive.co.za