Zikalala: Battle against climate change to be taken up a notch

Sihle Zikalala was speaking in Durban on Thursday.

He hosted a  provincial day of prayer event after last week's heavy rains claimed over 400 lives and left a trail of destruction. 

Zikalala told those in attendance that climate change is caused largely by human activities. 

“Scenes of flooding, rainstorms and heat waves show us just how much climate change can affect our lives,” he said.

“All of these changing weather patterns will become more severe if we do not act to stop greenhouse gas emissions.”

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This, Zikalala said, will be done through a transition to green technologies and clean energy sources. 

“As we treat climate change as a global emergency, we must also ensure that no one is left behind as we create new jobs that put environmental protection at the heart of how we produce and consume as a nation.”

Meanwhile, the death toll from the floods in KwaZulu-Natal has been revised down to 435 from 448.