Tasneem Essop, is currently (2009) the Executive Director of

Climate Action Network Climate Action Network - International (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 environmental non-governmental organisations in over 130 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecolo ...

, 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 province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

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 Inc. (WWF) is an 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 the Wor ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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 emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

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, 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 lan ...

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

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Response Strategy, a Sustainable Energy 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 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 the form of energy consumption that uses electrical energy. Electric energy consumption is the actual energy demand made on existing electricity supply for transportation, residential, industrial, commercial, and ot ...

, 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 ra ...

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

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

COP26 The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from 31 October to 13 November 2021. The ...

. 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