Net-zero goal could be new ‘shared vision that binds’ South Africa

A just transition towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 offers significant opportunities for a new growth path built on green industrialisation and could provide the anchor for a new “shared vision that binds us”, former Deputy Finance Minister and State Capture whistle-blower Mcebisi Jonas contends. Delivering a keynote address during a virtual meeting of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), Jonas argued that the just transition was not merely about reducing carbon emissions but also about placing the country on a new green industrialisation path to simultaneously address growth, jobs and transformation.
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South Africa risks becoming an outlier with its coal plans, says think tank

South Africa risks becoming an outlier in the global community if it pushes ahead with plans to develop new coal-fired power plants, says climate change think tank E3G.

E3G says the country is driving these plans despite there having been a 76% reduction in proposed new coal power generation capacity globally, since the negotiation of the Paris Agreement in 2015.

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Eskom evacuates staff who hid in locked Ga-Rankuwa offices to escape angry residents

Power utility Eskom safely evacuated its employees that it claimed were being held against their will by angry residents of Morula View in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, over the lack of power supply in the area. According to Eskom, the hostage situation followed the community’s demand for the replacement of a mini-substation in their area.
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South Africa’s green energy push hinges on R402bn debt fix

The head of South Africa’s State power utility needs to substantially reduce its R402-billion of debt to realise his vision of transforming the coal-addicted behemoth into a leading green-energy producer and create as many as 300 000 jobs in the process. Eskom Holdings supplies more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, the bulk of it from coal, and emits more than two-fifths of the nation’s greenhouse gases. Andre de Ruyter, 53, its chief executive officer, wants to tap concessional loans from development finance institutions to finance renewable plants in exchange for accelerating the closure of some of its old, polluting power stations.
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Vodacom installs new solar-powered sites to reduce carbon emissions

Information and communication technology giant Vodacom has invested more than R8-million to install new solar-powered sites in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein as the company continues to secure alternative energy sources to power its operations where feasible. The three new solar-powered sites will generate about 127 MWh a year of energy, helping to reduce Vodacom’s carbon emissions and lower its electricity consumption, as well as ease the load on the sites’ batteries in the event of load-shedding, ensuring network reliability, quality and seamless connectivity for customers.
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