After recent interviews with the minister of mineral resources and energy, the minister of public enterprises and the CEO of Eskom, which all touched on issues of air pollution, climate change and the energy transition that is underway globally, it was essential to interview Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy for her input on these issues.
Plans to avoid installing FGD plant at Medupi power station.Construction of new coal-fired power plants in South Africa.Further priorities to reduce air pollution in South Africa.South Africa’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Will you give me evidence of these further AEL contraventions at Kendal and the under-reporting of these to the regulatory authorities, that you refer to? [Yelland: We are also working with Eskom in implementing a review of generator Units 2, 3, 4 and 6 at Kendal, so that we can find out exactly what is wrong with these units, and what remedial action they would have to take in order to comply.Two planned new coal IPPs in the IRP 2019, Thabametsi and Khanyisa, based on fluidised-bed technology, will be among the most greenhouse gas emission intensive plants in the world, with subcritical steam boilers and generators less than 500MW.
But what I do have to say, Chris, is that if those involved in these projects follow procedures, there is nothing, at the moment, that outlaws the building of new coal-fired power stations. Whether those projects can be financed, and meet all regulatory compliance and other hurdles, I think we will have to wait and see.
We are developing a proposal to the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission on improving energy efficiency in the domestic space. Insulation, solar hot water geysers and new forms of cooking are all important issues. But one of the things I want to see in the post-Covid19 economic recovery period is how we can work together much more effectively with Human Settlements to introduce a lot of these initiatives at scale.
So, I think that supporting and strengthening the role of local government and licensing authorities is obviously a very important issue. We spoke earlier about work we are doing with regard to Kendal, and I think that such work has to be done more systematically with all of these municipalities. While the information we get is adequate, it could be much better. That is why we are prioritising investment in upgrading the status of all of these air quality monitoring stations. This will ensure they are all online all the time, giving us the kind of information we need for compliance monitoring and enforcement.
As a result of other work that we have done, we can then further reduce the decision-making timeframe. So, the current timeframe for a renewable energy development assessment within one of the REDZ is now only 80 days. This is important in terms of ease of doing business. These recommendations could well include an enhancement of our NDC, but I think that at this stage what we would want to say is that we are in that process of review, we are committed to going through with this, we are committed to getting buy-in from all sectors, and we are committed to making sure we meet all the necessary deadlines.
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.
WATCH LIVE | Department of health holds meeting on tobacco control in SADeputy minister of health Dr Joe Phaahla is chairing a meeting on tobacco control in South Africa.
Read more »
Covid-19 deaths rise to 705, with total now at 34,357In a statement on Monday afternoon, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa had risen to 34,357.
Read more »
SA’s Covid-19 death toll hits 705 as cases rise to 34 357South Africa’s confirmed Covid-19 cases have risen to 34 357, with 22 more deaths, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Monday.
Read more »
South Africa's COVID-19 deaths surpass 700The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa stands at 34,357.
Read more »
Children 'suffered' under Covid-19 lockdown: Hendrietta Bogopane-ZuluThis was the frank admission from deputy social development minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu.
Read more »
Shoppers stock up on liquor as sales resumeSouth Africa has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption per capita in the world.
Read more »