The tragic floods that have taken the lives of more than 70 people in KwaZulu-Natal should not be seen in isolation. Together with the drought in the Western Cape, the wildfires on the Garden Route and the intense tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth that have hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, they are part of a bigger picture of climate breakdown.
Urgent and unprecedented changes are needed at the systemic level. This is our only choice: Change our systems or change our climate. Governments must take the lead in driving the system changes we need — both to minimise climate disruption and to build resilience into our water, energy, food and infrastructure systems.
Our transport system also needs a major overhaul. Rail transport is much more energy-efficient than road transport and should play a far greater role in moving both passengers and freight. That means appointing honest, capable individuals to head up Prasa, Transnet and Metrorail services, as well as devolving more power to individual metros so that rail systems can be integrated with bus systems on a “single-ticket” basis.
At the same time as moving to less carbon-intensive systems, we must anticipate climate disruption and disaster and build the necessary resilience into our systems.