Arthur Greene
It would cost almost R4 trillion over a period of 30 years to transition South Africa’s coal-dominated economy to one powered by greener renewable energy.
This is according to a major new study published on Thursday by academics at Stellenbosch University in time for the World Economics Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“It will take at least $250 billion spent over the next three decades to transition to a low-carbon, more equitable energy system in South Africa,” the report said.
About half of the cost, R2 trillion, would go towards investing in wind and solar energy while the country moves away from coal-fired power stations.
The world’s coal power plants produce a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than any other single source.
South Africa is currently the world’s 12th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and is by far Africa’s biggest polluter.
In 2020, SA released over twice as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as Egypt, Africa’s next biggest polluter.
In October 2021, Britain, France, Germany, the US and the European Union agreed a R130 billion package to help South Africa reduce its emissions by switching to a greener economy.
The details of the package and the timeline over which it will be delivered are still under discussion.
If the world is going to achieve its goal set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of keeping global heating down to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by 2030.
A 1.5 degree increase would unleash far severer effects of climate change than we have ever seen before. Natural disasters would become much more frequent and more deadly. Meanwhile the hottest parts of the world would become unlivable, and give way to drought, ushering in a period of mass migration that would be catastrophic for the planet.
