President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of new commissioners to the Presidential Climate Commission marks the start of a new five-year term (2026-2030) for the multistakeholder body. Daily Maverick spoke to commission executive director Dorah Modise about the commission’s priorities and lessons learnt. The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) comprises government ministers and 22 commissioners who represent diverse perspectives and interests.
The commission meets quarterly, with ad hoc working groups focused on various thematic areas meeting more frequently. Established in 2020, the PCC is a multistakeholder body tasked with advising on South Africa’s climate change response, focusing on the just transition to a low-emissions, climate-resilient economy and society. The term of theformer commissionersended on 31 December 2025, and the new commissioners will serve for five years from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030, in accordance with the Climate Change Act 2024 (Act No 22 of 2024).
Daily Maverick spoke to PCC executive director Dorah Modise on Thursday, 8 January, as she welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of new commissioners. Modise said the commission’s priorities in this new term include supporting local governments to build climate resilience and mobilising adaptation finance. The commission would “support local governments to plan, implement and respond to climate disasters while playing a bigger role in the energy sectors”.
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It would also mobilise adaptation finance and grants for small-scale local projects, while supporting the government to build the capacity and policy coherence to implement quick wins. Modise said this needs to be backed by monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure real action and outcomes of the climate policy. They aimed to “continue to build consensus among social partners [and] increase community engagement and awareness, [while] mobilising domestic and international climate finance”.
Modise added that the commission boasts “diverse leaders of our society and communities, to drive and guide our country’s just transition journey and climate action efforts”. Asked what lessons from the PCC’s first term (2020-2025) will guide its work, Modise said the greatest lesson was to bring South Africans on board with the transition. South Africans remain anxious about any major transformational change that will disrupt their lives and livelihoods, she added.
“For many South Africans, they understand the impact of climate change but remain worried about jobs and energy security, and to the commission it meant taking South Africans along on all aspects of climate science. The lesson was to make sure that people, policymakers and donors understand the implications of inaction and the opportunities of acting now.”
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