Equally stubborn is the gap between what institutions must do and what they can do
As the dust settles on COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, SA has emerged as a canary in one of global climate politics’ deepest coal mines: climate finance. With the UN estimating that developing countries will require $340bn every year by 2030, questions of how the richer nations that gave rise to climate collapse will help fund poorer nations to transition away from coal could not be more pressing.
The JETP’s deliberations, which reportedly barely included inputs from the Presidential Climate Commission, went on with little public engagement. In that sense they mirrored much of SA’s energy sector, where a lot of work is done, but most without taking the public into confidence. In the words of one senior official, “If you get ahead of yourself, you get klapped.”
Some of these debates are technical, but the major outstanding consensus remains political. As SA turns its back on ageing coal plants, so workers’ anxiety will deepen. More than 100,000 jobs might be at risk by 2050. On the other hand, there is a huge trade and economic impetus at the heart of business’s response to the climate crisis.
But, while the current Eskom leadership team has done well to improve the utility’s financial stability, its operational components — maintenance and delivery — have suffered. Energy supply is a struggle that had been long in the making. The 1998 white paper on energy policy was clear on the need to build greater energy capacity.
However, while SA’s most immediate challenge is increasing its energy availability factor, it will mean taking existing plants offline. To do so requires getting right transmission, and praying that new private generation projects are able to cover the shortfall. Even then it remains a mystery just how many years SA’s transmission infrastructure is behind.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the urgent need for a renewable energy system is a transition that leaves workers behind.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
JUSTICE MALALA: Lamola is one candidate who can be trustedRonald Lamola may not win at the ANC congress, but he is steadfast and has principles
Read more »
ANC in KZN throws its hat in with the crown to accelerate rural developmentANC KwaZulu-Natal officials have met members of the Ingonyama Trust board after the king promised to use the trust to champion rural development.
Read more »
Arrogance and dictatorship: Why EFF, ANC marriage failed in Ekurhuleni | News24Arrogance and accusations of dictatorship symbolised the cracks in the ANC and EFF's attempts to thrash out a power-sharing agreement for Ekurhuleni, leaving the metro back in the DA's hands. | ZintleMahlati
Read more »
ANC in KwaZulu-Natal to announce its choice for party president on ThursdayANC in KwaZulu-Natal to announce its choice for party president on Thursday - Provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo says the leadership contest must not cut the ANC in two
Read more »
EDITORIAL: Eskom’s implosion is worse than you ever imaginedBeware the populists, keen to stop ANC losses from blackouts, promising whatever they have to
Read more »
JUSTICE MALALA: Lamola is one candidate who can be trustedAmong those in the ANC scrambling for positions, the justice & correctional services minister stands out, writes justicemalala.
Read more »