SA - A LEADING LIGHT IN DUMPING COAL – FAIRLY

The country’s energy transition has significant ramifications for Africa and the world

BY SALIEM FAKIR executive director of the African Climate Foundation. The ACF is the first African-led strategic climate change grant-making foundation on the continent established to provide a mechanism through which philanthropies can contribute to Africa’s efforts to address climate change.

SOUTH AFRICA is influencing a new form of climate diplomacy – one that realises energy transitions are not necessarily negative to a country’s growth and development.

In fact, South Africa’s pioneering work on the Just Energy Transition Transaction (Jett), which is being led by Eskom, holds significant opportunities for alternative and increased investment around clean energy solutions. This not only helps resolve South Africa’s carbon intensity but avoids the future penalisation of the economy as the world increasingly decarbonises.

Carbon-intense industries that are contributing to pollution will be penalised, whereas industries that promote lowcarbon activities and are aligned with decarbonisation goals will be incentivised.

Trends such as the European Green Deal and China’s longterm decarbonisation plans, including its announcement at the UN General Assembly that it will no longer fund new coal projects outside of China, is a significant development.

South Africa’s continued use of coal is increasingly looking like a bad idea. The proposed Jett, supported by the Cabinet, is one way to find a pathway to reduce its dependence on coal and expand its energy mix to cleaner solutions in a way that allows the country to attract investment in the clean energy sector.

This path to a cleaner and greener future must also avoid the negative impacts on coalrelated employment and supply chains as the transition out of coal will eventually lead to job losses in mining and supply. Although these jobs will be lost in the longer term, the process can be managed effectively until then to avoid a drastic impact on the sector.

South Africa’s climate diplomacy must be different, as we’re finding ourselves in a world where climate issues are not just an environmental concern but increasingly becoming a mainstream economic and development issue – especially for the African continent.

South Africa’s work on climate change is unique because it brings a strong just transition lens to the policy discussions. It is the only country to do so in such a systematic way

PICTURE ALAIN THOMAS RICHTER / UNSPLASH

There is a huge interest in South Africa’s Jett initiative, especially since the Cabinet approved the submission of the country’s 4th Biennial Update Report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which provides an update on the country’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

South Africa’s nationally determined contributions make commitments to bring forward (by a decade or so) the reduction of carbon emissions. To achieve this, the major change will have to come from the energy sector.

In September, the country received an international delegation from the UK, Germany, France, the US and the EU which lead to the government announcing that South Africa would seek to establish a partnership between advanced economies willing to support its transition out of coal.

If the agreement is finalised in the coming year, South Africa stands the chance of using cheaper sources of funds for both new, clean energy sources and for a fair transition by giving support to those who will be displaced due to a coal exit.

We need to recognise the excellent supportive role of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), set up earlier this year, to the South African government on just transitions.

The PCC’s main role is advisory but it also has the crucial task of coordinating South Africa’s efforts on dealing with a broad range of climate issues. The three critical areas are to facilitate the setting of a more ambitious emissions reduction trajectory; to support the finalisation of Eskom’s just energy transition transaction and to help reach a broader consensus with key stakeholders on South Africa’s just transition.

The implications of this are significant and many have not grasped the tectonic shifts that are happening in the climate space in South Africa which are often not visible to the public.

Recent developments signal that South Africa’s presence in the climate negotiations and climate diplomacy is reaching a point where it will be a leading country among emerging economies focusing on broader climate issues. South Africa’s work on climate change is unique because it brings a strong just transition lens to the policy discussions. It is the only country to do so in such a systematic way.

This has significant lessons for similar energy transitions and for other parts of the continent.

A contextual example is Namibia’s Green Hydrogen programme, which is going to receive an immense amount of attention in the next couple of years.

There are also many oil and gas-heavy African countries that are considering a potential transition out of the commodities.

As South Africa leads its just energy transition programme, it will gain the necessary experience to mature to the next level and this experience will be valuable to other countries.

PICTURE KM L / PEXELS