In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) address, yesterday evening, in Cape Town, President Cyril Ramaphosa, said South Africa, has seen an increase in extreme weather events, often with disastrous consequences.
“This is why we are implementing a just energy transition, not only to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change, but to create growth and jobs for our own people.”
He also said the transition would be at a pace, scale and cost that SA can afford, and in a manner that ensures energy security.
His points in summary
# Thousands of jobs to be created in renewable energy, green hydrogen, green steel, electric vehicles and other green-friendly products.
The Northern Cape, with its optimal solar conditions, has already attracted billions of rands in investment.
#A concerted effort to develop a Special Economic Zone in the Boegoebaai port, is expected to drive investment in green energy.
There is a great deal of interest from the private sector to participate in the boom that will be generated from green hydrogen energy projects.
#The support of electric vehicle manufacturing in South Africa to grow the automotive sector, which will yield further jobs.
# Special focus to regions like Mpumalanga to enable the creation of new industries, new economic opportunities and sustainable jobs.
#An increase in financing pledges for the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan from around R170 billion to almost R240 billion.
#The establishment of the Climate Change Response Fund, to address the persistent effects of global warming, which manifest through persistent floods, fires and droughts.
This will bring together all spheres of government and the private sector in a collaborative effort to build resilience and respond to the impacts of climate change.
Ramaphosa said that last year, a major debt relief package to allow Eskom to make investments in maintenance and transmission infrastructure got underway.
“Since we revived our renewable energy programme five years ago, we have connected more than 2,500 MW of solar and wind power to the grid with three times this amount already in procurement or construction.
Through tax incentives and financial support, we have more than doubled the amount of rooftop solar capacity installed across the country in just the past year.”
Regulatory reforms to enable private investment in electricity generation, created some 120 new private energy projects.
#The energy sector faces a transformation of energy systems to make it more competitive, sustainable and reliable into the future.
Approximately 14,000km of new transmission lines will be constructed to accommodate renewable energy over the coming years, through private investment partnerships.