The level of attendance here at COP27 really speaks to the serious commitment on the table from both the private and public sector. We are also seeing substantial financial commitments being made. Shameel Joosub joins us on Day 5 of COP27.
Shameel Joosub on the key takeaways from COP27
We need a commitment in terms of trying to create a better planet for our kids. And I think what’s been amazing is the level of attendance, which shows the seriousness of the issue, but also the commitments that are coming from governments and corporates alike.
On solving the climate crises from a telecommunications perspective
The first part is, of course, that we as a corporate need to do in terms of reducing our emissions, but also in terms of moving towards net zero, is to make a clear commitment in that regard that we will reduce our GHG emissions by 50% by 2025, but also try to source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources. So that’s quite a big part for us. The second part is what is our role as Vodacom to create the technology that can actually help solve some of these climate issues? How can we play a bigger role in improving the planet to a large degree? And in that respect, we bring some of our platforms, and the ability on those platforms to solve real life crises is one of the big things. So, for example, our farming platforms and the impact they’re already having in terms of improving food security, availability of food and producing better crop yields, has been quite amazing.
On the critical role of technology
The Ukraine crisis has impacted the world and of course, Africa has not been immune to that in any form. In fact, it’s part of those struggles because if you’re buying your equipment in dollars, it’s become a lot more expensive. Fuel prices have gone up. So, these things have impacted farmers and their ability to run a profitable farm. And the ability for technology to play a role becomes really critical. Giving them access to these platforms has become critical for us. We have solutions that deal with large farms, and we have over 2 million farmers now using our whole platform across the continent, so that’s really been quite key.
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