{"id":723020,"date":"2023-10-05T10:53:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T08:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=723020"},"modified":"2023-10-05T11:11:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T09:11:54","slug":"a-power-full-future-is-a-just-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/723020\/a-power-full-future-is-a-just-future\/","title":{"rendered":"A power-full future is a just future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2022, South Africa spent more than half the year in darkness because of loadshedding. Alongside this energy crisis, the country is being challenged to transform its coal-intensive energy mix into a more sustainable, renewable energy mix, in line with its international commitments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This transition presents several challenges, one of which is to ensure that the transition is just and equitable for local communities whose livelihoods depend on coal mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.up.ac.za\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=October+2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here for more information about the University of Pretoria<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The national Department of Mineral Resources and Energy says that about 77%of South Africa\u2019s primary energy needs are met with coal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To better understand the implications of this energy transition, the Energy Economics Unit, a team from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP) evaluated the planned energy transition and its potential impacts on a national and provincial level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A point of focus was the coal-intensive Mpumalanga province. Of the 90 000 people who are directly employed by the coal mining industry, around 75% are tied to Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Coal-intensive consequences<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Their findings were \u201cstartling, yet not surprising\u201d, the UP team says. \u201cThe Mpumalanga economy, specifically its coal industry, is facing a challenging scenario in which the consequences are significant regardless of the path taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first set of modelling scenarios indicated that a predicted decline in export demand for coal, and potential penalties for non-compliance with international commitments, would have a negative impact on Mpumalanga and national economies if the current coal-intensive energy mix persists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, transitioning away from coal would still significantly affect the Mpumalanga coal industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere may be some offsetting benefits from other businesses, particularly in the renewable energy sector, if the region can retain its workforce and create a supportive environment for growth,\u201d the team says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The need to transition<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy\u2019s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) envisages that demand for coal as a source of energy will decline, and that by 2030, the energy mix would change materially toward renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Disruption is, therefore, both necessary and unavoidable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur research shows that the successful implementation of a just transition has the potential to deliver both economic growth and environmental sustainability,\u201d the team says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHowever, this requires a carefully managed process that prioritises building trust among policymakers, stakeholders and local communities to navigate short-term challenges and achieve long-term benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>When will it happen?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Predictably, coal miners want to extend their operations for as long as possible, while climate activists want them shut down as soon as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just energy transition stakeholders need to find middle ground, but as the research highlights, this will take intervention and support from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> This work has started, but has been frustratingly slow to implement on the ground, as it is hampered by the electricity crisis and policy uncertainty between different government departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>More energy, more work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Other than directly addressing the United Nation\u2019s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (Ensure Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All), a just energy transition is closely linked to SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth. It can create new job and economic opportunities in the clean energy sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indd.adobe.com\/view\/deea3015-7f96-4d5c-b334-9b0ebbec4cb0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here for more information<\/strong> <strong>about this<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Companies have been considering the transition to cleaner energy for a long time. The dilemma they face, especially those in the coal industry, is how to balance a future that is power-full with one that leaves people powerless in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":723022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[8393],"class_list":["post-723020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-university-of-pretoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723020"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":723062,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723020\/revisions\/723062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}