The African Union (AU) expects to officially join the Group of 20 (G20) nations this month, providing the continent with another seat at the table with some of the world’s biggest polluters as it confronts the fallout from global warming. The continental group aims to use the opportunity to call on rich nations to honor their promises to tackle climate change, including providing developing countries with $100-billion in financing each year, said Macky Sall, the President of Senegal who holds the AU’s rotating chairmanship. G20 nations are responsible for 80% of global emissions, while Africa accounts for less than 4%.
There are considerable constraints facing South Africa and Africa in terms of the sustainability and efficiency of energy supply; however, there are also opportunities in renewable energy generation, as the world looks to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. This was the key theme from the morning session on day one of industry organisation the South African National Energy Association’s (SANEA)’s 2022 conference.
South African is close to a tipping point in terms of its capacity to manage energy risks, the fifth and latest edition of the South African National Energy Association (SANEA) ‘Energy Risk Report’ warns. Presenting the report at SANEA’s 2022 conference in Johannesburg, general-secretary Wendy Poulton said that, although some progress had been made over the past year to reduce policy uncertainty, it was both insufficient and too slow.
Beermaker Heineken unveiled its grid-based 6.5MW solar power plant at the company’s Sedibeng Brewery in Midvaal last month which will supply 30% of its power consumption as part of the company’s Brew A Better world strategy. Nadine Ramdass tells us more.
As part of floating power station company Karpowership South Africa’s environmental authorisation application, it has started an enhanced process of additional public consultations to ensure all stakeholders fully understand the benefits these projects will bring to the country. “Karpowership South Africa’s detailed and comprehensive environmental processes will ensure all perceived gaps in the initial environmental-impact assessment of its proposed operations in Coega, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay are addressed for implementation of the projects that will ultimately maximise economic benefits to the communities in the project locations,” the company says.
The French and German development banks, AFD and KfW, have signed agreements with the South African government to each extend €300-million in concessional financing to support the country’s transition to a cleaner energy system that is less reliant on coal. The €600-million is the first to be confirmed under the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) announced at COP26 in November 2021, and follows the publication by South Africa of the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) ahead of COP27, which is currently under way in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
A consortium of dozens of research nonprofits on Wednesday launched a free online platform that details greenhouse gas emissions around the world across 20 economic sectors. Climate Trace, which can be viewed on a web browser, includes a zoomable world map that displays and ranks the dirtiest 72 000 power plants, oil refineries, airports, ships and more. The group used satellite imagery and machine learning as well as more conventional techniques to build what it says is the largest available source of greenhouse gas emissions data. “The sources of emissions data that are available now are not granular enough, or comprehensive enough, to use as the basis for decisions,” former US Vice President Al Gore said in an interview. “And so what we are finding is that there is a ravenous hunger for accurate data.” Gore, who has fundraised for the group, is expected to introduce the platform on Wednesday at COP27, the UN climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
There is a definite skills gap in the country’s renewable energy and associated industries, as South Africa looks to meet ambitious 2030 greenhouse-gas emission reduction and renewable energy targets, and the country must prioritise identifying what is lacking across the entire value chain and use certain mechanism to ensure that this gap is bridged. This was the key message from speakers in CTU Training Solutions’ webinar, held in collaboration with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) on November 8.
South Africa’s R1.5-trillion just energy transition investment plan has been endorsed by the International Partners Group (IPG), which includes UK, US, Germany, France and the EU. The countries which initially pledged $8.5-billion to aid South Africa’s shift from coal, also plan to make available an additional R10-billion, according to a joint statement. The investment plan – R1.5-trillion over five years – was formally handed over by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the IPG at COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday.
Eskom says the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted an order allowing it to attach R1.3-billion of the Emfuleni municipality’s assets for its “continued failure” to settle its accounts and arrears with the power utility. Eskom said on Monday that following the October ruling, it had started taking steps to recover some of the money from the Vaal municipality, including attaching bank accounts and moveable assets
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