Tasneem Essop, is currently (2009) the executive director of Climate Action Network, the largest global network of over 1,300 civil society organisations, in over 120 countries, fighting the climate crisis. Essop served as a former Provincial Minister of Environment, Planning and Economic Development in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

and was responsible for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) and the Department of Economic Development, as well as the Western Cape Investment and Trade Promotion Agency, Wesgro and the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board, CapeNature. Essop was employed by

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

as International Climate Policy Advocate. Essop focuses on WWF's Global Climate Deal Network Initiative. The aim of the Initiative is to secure a binding multilateral agreement, by the end of 2009 that sets the world on a path to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050

Early career

Prior to 1994 she was an anti-Apartheid activist involved in youth, union and gender organisations. An educator by profession, she started her career in 1985, teaching English, History and Guidance at Glendale Senior Secondary in

Mitchell's Plain Mitchells Plain is a large census designated sub-place located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multi ...

, Western Cape. Even though her teaching career was relatively brief, she left the secondary school in 1988. Essop worked as an Education Officer for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

for two years before taking up a post as Education and Media Officer at the South African Municipal Workers Union. She went on to become Cosatu's Regional Education Officer a position which she held from 1992 to 1994. After the first democratic elections in 1994 she became an ANC Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) where she served as the ANC's Western Cape Spokesperson on Finance & Public Accounts. During this period in opposition, Essop became the Chairperson of the Provincial Standing Committee on Finance (SCOPA) which exercised financial oversight over the Executive and went on to become a Founding Member and chairperson of the national Association of Public Accounts Committees (APAC) in South Africa.

Climate advocacy

Giving Scotland "Ray of the Day" at COP26 In 2001 she was appointed as Western Cape Provincial Minister of Transport, Public Works & Property Management. In May 2004, she was appointed as Provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. In this portfolio she has been a staunch promoter of

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

and has piloted a number of new policies for the province, such as the Provincial Spatial Development Framework (PSDF), a

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Response Strategy, a

Sustainable Energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

Strategy (SES) and Guidelines for Golf Estates, Polo Fields and Polo Estates. She has also lectured on a number of international stages on matters such as the impacts of climate change, protecting the Cape's unique biodiversity and, more recently, has become recognised as a

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

champion. She was invited as a guest speaker to the Latin America and Caribbean Conference on Climate Change and visited Cuba where she met with the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment and leading biodiversity and climate change experts. Essop is well known for saying that 'climate change is a poverty issue'. Essop is also the leader of Provincial Government delegation in the Provincial Development Council (PDC), a social dialogue institution consisting of government, labour, civil society and business. After the Western Cape experienced electricity shortages in 2006 Premier Rasool initiated the Energy Risk Management Committee (a broad stakeholder forum). This body, which was reactivated in 2008, is chaired by Essop and has been responsible for reducing

electricity consumption Electric energy consumption is energy consumption in the form of electrical energy. About a fifth of global energy is consumed as electricity: for residential, industrial, commercial, transportation and other purposes. The global electricity con ...

, promoting

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a rat ...

and alternative sources of energy in the Western Cape. In 2021 she was in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

at COP26. During the meeting she gave a "Ray of the Day" to Scotland and India. Her organisation also gave "Fossil of the Day" to Norway, Australia and Japan for promoting fossil fuels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essop, Tasneem Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament