Mel Frykberg

With South Africa hosting the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), from November 28, the eyes of the world will be focused on the country.

How the South African government chooses to deal with South Africa’s high energy demands and this impact on the environment will be among the issues under scrutiny at the meeting in Durban.

The government has released a National Development Plan (NDP) Vision Statement 2030, part of which incorporates future plans to move South Africa towards more environmentally sustainable energy sources.

Environmentalists and ecologists argue that South Africa has to transition towards a low-carbon economy if the negative environmental and health impacts of dirty fuel sources such as coal are to be substituted for healthier energy sources including solar and wind power.

Green Peace says that South Africa is addicted to coal, with 90% of the country’s electricity coming from the fuel that has been a source of energy since the 1870s. South Africa is the world’s 12th largest carbon dioxide (CO²) emitter, and the biggest in Africa.

The NDP vision for transitioning towards a low-carbon economy incorporates:

· Support for a carbon budgeting approach linking social and economic consideration to carbon reduction targets.

· Introducing an economy-wide price for carbon complemented by a range of programmes and incentives to raise energy sufficiency and manage waste better.

· A target of 5 million solar water heaters by 2030.

· Building standards that promote energy efficiency.

· Simplifying the regulatory regime to encourage renewable energy, hydro-electrical initiatives and independent power stations.

The above will involve limiting greenhouse gases and carbon-dioxide emissions and decommissioning ageing coal-fired stations. But the government wants this to be done without harming jobs, competition or compromising South Africa’s growing energy needs.

Hilary Joffe, spokesperson for state-owned energy company Eskom, said that South Africa’s huge energy requirements required getting energy from a variety of sources including wind and solar. “We don’t have access to natural gas and our water supplies are limited. We are moving towards cleaner forms of energy and have two solar and wind projects planned but these take time and we are not a first-world country,” Joffe told The New Age.

melf@thenewage.co.za