Redoubling efforts for climate action and development in 2026

As we close the chapter on 2025, we are reminded that this year was written in contrasts. Borrowing from Albert Camus, it felt like a time when “in the depth of winter, we finally learned that within us there lay an invincible summer.” The year delivered remarkable progress in the climate action movement, yet it also confronted us with moments so difficult that choosing a single annus horribilis felt almost impossible. 2025 was, in every sense, a year of hard-won hope alongside sobering setbacks.

The past year did not spare us of the urgent realities of climate change, with record temperatures, persistent floods and droughts, and growing impacts on our communities and the economy.  2025 was equally and increasingly difficult geopolitical environment, countries and corporations have backtracked on their commitments to sustainable development, equity, and climate action. Multilateralism, once the cornerstone of global cooperation, faced new challenges, raising concerns about the collective ability to meet the Paris Agreement targets. 

We began the year navigating the complexities of a multi-party Government of National Unity. Within this distinctive political context, the imperative to confront climate change remained unequivocal. All parties represented in government reaffirmed their commitment to advancing a just transition—one that firmly places our country on a path toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient, and inclusive green economy.

As our country updated its Nationally Determined Contributions and began implementing the Climate Change Act (2024), the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) remained vigilant in fulfilling its mandate. It provided rigorous evidence, exercised sound judgment, and consistently called for strengthened collaboration and partnerships to support effective and equitable climate action.

Leading by Example – Our National Climate Commitments  

Our updated national climate action pledge in our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC, 2025) explicitly commits to an all-of-society, people-centred approach, ensuring that women, youth, workers, rural residents and other historically marginalised groups are at the forefront of designing our future. 

As our 2025 NDC underscores, our ambitions extend beyond reducing emissions to achieving low unemployment, reduced inequality, and strengthened social protection—particularly for vulnerable workers and communities.

As the Climate Change Act (2024) delivers its early wins, the regulations establishing the PCC as an independent Schedule 3 public entity were published for public comment last week. These regulations set out the key governance architecture for the transition, providing for the administration and operation of the Commission to ensure the effective fulfilment of its objectives, functions, and responsibilities.

 2025 – We stayed the course in an uncertain world   

In a world marked by geopolitical uncertainty, we ensured that South Africa stayed the course, because in our own values, our commitment to a just transition is not only about meeting global targets—it is about building a more secure, prosperous, and sustainable future for every South African. 

Over the past year, the work of the PCC has remained firmly focused on advancing South Africa’s climate ambitions, particularly in the critical areas of mitigation and the pathway to net-zero emissions. Central to this effort was the Commission’s active engagement in the development of South Africa’s second NDC, ensuring that climate commitments are both ambitious and grounded in the country’s social and economic realities.

Beyond mitigation targets, the PCC undertook extensive analytical and advisory work across several priority areas. This included assessments of the state of climate finance, the implications of carbon border adjustment mechanisms, disaster response and recovery, and the scale and readiness of the country’s energy infrastructure. In each of these areas, the Commission developed evidence-based recommendations, which were shared regularly with government and key stakeholders to inform policy and decision-making.

The PCC also strengthened its public accountability role through the publication of updated climate action reports. Notably, these included a follow-up review of the KwaZulu-Natal floods, examining progress in disaster preparedness and response, as well as an assessment of developments in the redevelopment of Komati—ground zero for Eskom’s coal decommissioning process and a critical test case for a just transition.

Complementing this work, the Commission conducted substantial analysis on the readiness of local government to respond to the growing impacts of climate change, underscoring the need for stronger capacity, coordination, and resourcing at municipal level. Together, these efforts reflect the PCC’s continued commitment to providing rigorous, independent oversight and guidance as South Africa navigates a just and climate-resilient transition.

We wind up the year at the five-year mark since the establishment of the PCC which half a decade ago ushered a dynamic approach to climate governance and policy making, and today we can claim stake in the shaping of an institution that has helped anchor the country’s transition discourse with clarity and purpose.

Despite all these successes of the past year, we must remain realistic and focused on the path before us.  As the first term of the Commission ends, it a pivotal moment to reflect on successes, challenges and leave behind a sustainable roadmap for the just transition, ensuring continuity beyond 2025.  We must intensify work initiatives focused on finance, adaptation, and resilience, including continued support in the coal-belt region.

If 2025 demonstrated anything, it is that South Africans can come together across differences to confront the climate challenge. In 2026, we will build on this momentum—turning commitment into measurable progress and delivering a just, resilient, and inclusive transition for all.

Dorah Modise, Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Commission

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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