The Just Transition Partnership signed between South Africa and several developed countries in late 2021 has been held up as an example of the type of ‘climate and development partnership’ that the German government plans to pursue both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of a development policy that includes climate action as a core pillar. In an address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said such partnerships were a “new key element” that Germany was pursuing to support developing countries in their transitions toward climate neutrality and resilience.
The Ekurhuleni Municipality has approved the connection of a large solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and battery system at food and beverage company PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) large distribution centre, near Kempton Park. The new PV and lithium-ion battery system will form one of South Africa’s largest microgrids, comprising a 1.8 MW solar PV facility alongside a 2.9 MWh battery, while being grid-connected to stabilise the local grid.
Investment by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) in rail infrastructure would create 76 000 jobs, while prioritising environment-friendly construction in city projects would create 143 000 green jobs by 2030, CoJ Environment and Infrastructure Services mayoral committee member Michael Sun has said, citing the results of research conducted by cities climate change network C40 Cities. The city’s multi-party government has committed to spurring a just economic transition within the city’s economy and to ensure all residents at risk of losing a job in non-green industries are given opportunities to work in other sectors essential to a sustainable economy and society.
Although coal miner Exxaro acknowledges its contribution toward climate change, it also stresses that coal from already-established coal mines need to be capitalised upon to form the foundation of a new and future-sustainable business.
As Western Europe accelerates a structural transition away from Russian energy dependence, Africa will play a salient role in filling this void, says Oxford Economics Africa (OEA). During a webinar on March 29, the research company unpacked how a more pressing shift towards renewable energy and a reduction on Russian hydrocarbon dependence will increase demand for African renewable and non-renewable resources.
The Rand West City municipality has given non-compliant residents some leeway after Eskom warned about blackouts. The municipality owes Eskom R732-million, which has been accumulated over the past 12 years. The mayor, Gladys Khoza, said the municipality was failing to collect revenue in townships.
The renewable energy transition “is the only true path to energy security”, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has asserted, adding that the current energy crisis, precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underlined the need to accelerate rather than slow the transition. In a recorded address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), Guterres warned that the world was not on track to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by mid-century, or limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Investing in South African cities as part of a green and just recovery from the pandemic can create and support 1.8-million green jobs by 2030, with nearly 1.1-million of those jobs in the buildings, power and sustainable transport sectors. A further 674 000 jobs can be generated and supported locally within cities. Investing in adaptation and nature-based solutions to tackle extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, can produce an additional 705 000 sustainable jobs across the country.
South Africa’s economy has had to deal with bouts of load-shedding since 2008 while the procurement of new renewables capacity under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) was delayed for a number of years, but renewable energy company Dornier-Suntrace is optimistic about the country’s clean energy prospects going forward.
CEO Boris Westphal, who has been involved in the local renewable energy industry since 2010, says the REIPPPP was one of the most successful energy auction programmes globally up to 2014 when it was stalled.
There are fears of a global energy supply crisis affecting electricity and fuel security, precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while uncertainty around oil supply from Russia, which is the world’s third-largest producer, has sent the oil price soaring. Further, with efforts by European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian gas, energy efficiency will become the single most effective tool to remedy high demand and low capacity or supply, says South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) energy efficiency and corporate communications GM Barry Bredenkamp.
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