South Africa will Strain to Reach its Commitments to the UNFCCC

The last several years have provided for challenging times in South Africa. The country is struggling to find its place in the world in the post-Apartheid age. President Jacob Zuma’s recent State of the Nation address was long on rhetoric, mainly that which extolled the accomplishments of Nelson Mandela (who made a rare public appearance that evening) and the stewardship of the slightly rusty ruling African National Congress party. However, he said very little in the speech to help lay out a firm strategy for economic and social success.

One of the greatest problems in South Africa is that outside of major urban centres the population has only limited access to reliable energy sources. This flies in the face of South Africa’s international energy commitments because ESKOM, which nearly holds a complete monopoly in South African energy production, also provides 45% of the entire continent’s electricity. Of course, this is ‘the dark continent’[1], but South Africans are feeling a power pinch as export demands have been met at the expense of domestic power shortages.

After hosting the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, South Africa made strong legal commitments to reduce its carbon footprint via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol entered into force here in 2005. Despite a rocky start, the South African government recently announced major plans to reduce emissions.

Interestingly, Article 24 of the South African Constitution seems to give strong support to this policy direction:

24. Everyone has the right -

(a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and

(b) to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that -

(i) prevent pollution and ecological degradation;

(ii) promote conservation; and

(iii) secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development

The Energy Problem

The International Energy Agency (IEA) holds that South Africa is the world’s thirteenth largest carbon emitter. Ninety-four percent of the country’s electricity is derived from coal-power plants. Rural dwellers living off the grid can actually consume more energy than urban dwellers because they use large quantities of biomass for their energy needs (using coal, paraffin and wood for heating and cooking).[2] Demand for electricity is only rising as the national energy grid is strengthened and household incomes increase, bringing more consumer electronics and appliances to the masses. President Zuma announced in last week’s address that ESKOM will lose its place as the sole distributor of energy to commercial and residential purchasers. It will recess into the role of an energy supplier to a future distribution agency. But how level will the new playing field be for other power generating consortiums? And what types of power generating operations will be competitive?

The proposed solutions

Windfarm in Darling, South Africa

The South African Department of Mines and Energy held a renewable energy summit in 2009, and it aims to produce 10,000GWh of new electricity capacity by 2013. It also wishes to create universal grid access by 2014. Their ambitious integrated energy plan seems to hit all the standard points. The Western Cape Province in particular has a strong potential for wind energy development. Regional natural gas pipeline projects will take on an increasing importance in the coming decade. According to the plan, energy efficiency programs will be mainstreamed throughout the economy. South Africa has two nuclear power plants and there is speculation that the growing energy relationship between France and South Africa means some form of assistance will come in developing more modern nuclear power facilities.

This high level policymaking is all very important, and South Africa is on track – at least on paper – to make major cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions. It will miss the targets it set under the Kyoto Protocol, but outside of Europe this is a nearly ubiquitous trend. South Africa could help socialize green energy policy via an implementation of a targeted rural energy policy. While one does not yet exist, South Africans (although not necessarily through government intervention) have made great strides in getting energy efficient stoves, wind-water pumps and small-scale wind generators into rural areas.[3]

A Foreign Policy article from earlier this month noted that the recent climate talks in Copenhagen were not a complete failure, because clearer and more uniform monitoring mechanisms had been agreed to by the delegations – even though they could agree on little else. Author David Roberts noted that the Copenhagen Accord could expose “countries’ efforts to public scrutiny and motivat[e] them to follow through.” Despite South Africa’s various handicaps, it has brought its domestic legislation and energy policy in line with the lowest common denominator of international dialogue. The private sector seems to be keying into the commercial opportunities. There currently seems to be a plethora of companies working on green energy and energy efficiency projects in South Africa. Two major energy conferences and trade shows are coming shortly.

[Disclosure: The author will be a research intern at the African Wind Energy Association in Darling, South Africa through July 2010.]

[2] Mapako, Maxwell & Abel Mbewe, (eds.). Renewables and Energy for Rural Development in sub-Saharan Africa (New York: Zed Books, 2004) at 17-25.

[3] Ibid at 27 and 41.

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