SUMMER 2009 Climate Alert
The Copenhagen Challenge: Prospects for Successful Climate Negotiations [ PDF ]
In this Newsletter:
South Africa: A Leader on the Continent
Effie George
South Africa, the most developed of the African nations and the continent’s largest polluter, has demonstrated initiative in climate change programs and policies under Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. These measures can potentially serve as a model framework for other African nations’ climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. South Africa relies heavily on coal for energy (90% of the nation’s electricity comes from coal sources), and as such the nation yields over 9 tons of CO2 per capita per year. EKSOM, the company which supplies 95% of the nation’s electricity, produces over half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the energy sector emits over 70% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions [i]. In the face of the worst energy crisis in decades, little emphasis has been placed on mitigating the use of coal. Through the work of van Schalkwyk and the cabinet, however, South Africa is emerging as a leader in these issues, demonstrating forward thinking through realistic policies.
Though South Africa is not legally required through Kyoto to take dramatic reduction steps because of its status as a developing nation, van Schalkwyk, facing data that suggest that a lack of action could lead South African emissions to quadruple by 2050, has pushed for a progressive pollution policy that emphasizes sustainable development through clean energy technology and international cooperation [ii].
In July 2008, South African officials announced cabinet level commitments to a pollution policy of “peak, plateau and decline.” Through this framework, pollution will peak at 550 megatons (100 megatons above 2003 levels) by 2020-2025, remain steady and then gradually decline [iii]. In a keynote address in Washington, DC in a conference on emerging strategies for international climate and investment policy, van Schalkwyk called the proposal “highly ambitious for a developing country,” stating that “this framework is motivated by climate change concerns, but very importantly also by our energy access, energy security, sustainable development and poverty eradication imperatives” [iv].
By maintaining this stance and the belief that climate change is equally an “energy and development question,” van Schalkwyk is reaffirming the AMCEN commitment to sustainable development through low carbon energy technology. Similarly, van Schalkwyk has ambitious plans to generate 15% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020, as the nation “continues to diversify the energy mix away from coal whilst shifting to cleaner coal.” Van Schalkwyk has openly discussed the possibility of nuclear energy as a vital component of future energy use, as South Africa expands its sustainable energy sector [iv].
South African rhetoric and actions have demonstrated an understanding of the necessity for international cooperation in ensuring the success of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. In April of this year, van Schalkwyk met with environmental leaders from the 17 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in Washington to discuss policy and arrangements pre-Copenhagen. Though this conference yielded merely suggestions and ideas for the future, it built a platform for South Africa and van Schalkwyk to become a force in negotiations.
Looking forward, van Schalkwyk said, “we are putting our best efforts into making a fair contribution to this global challenge – but the extent to which South Africa will be able to realize its ambitious vision will depend on the support that the international community gives through finance, technology transfer and the building of human and institutional capacity” [iv]. In 2009, the National Climate Change Summit was held, reaffirming the statements and commitments made in 2008, with the hopes that a comprehensive National Climate Change Policy can be drafted and ratified after the Copenhagen negotiations [v].
South Africa has demonstrated that it can be a leader in Africa on issues of climate change. What remains to be seen is whether the nation will receive adequate attention and support from the international community. Though the work to be done to protect South Africa and the African continent is massive in scale, van Schalkwyk’s message remains: “together, we can.”
Other Articles in this Newsletter:
Ecuador: A Sustainable Development Model
India: Poverty Eradication for Climate Adaptation
Africa and AMCEN: A United Front
Red Alert: The Impact of Climate Change on Northwest Coast Tribal Fisheries
Russia: Emissions Without Concessions