South Africa’s new energy minister vowed on Monday to accelerate the shift to renewable energy from coal, breaking with a predecessor who opposed swift decarbonision and pledged to keeping burning coal for a long time.<\/p>\n
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who now runs the newly-created Energy and Electricity Ministry, was addressing journalists as Africa’s most industrial nation celebrated more than 100 days with no power cuts – a record over years of crippling blackouts.<\/p>\n
“I am going to be ultra-aggressive on the … renewable energy. You are going to see an exponential share,” he told a news conference in the capital Pretoria, adding that he wanted to signal to investors “our intention to go that route”.<\/p>\n
Owing to its reliance on coal-fired power stations\u00a0run by state provider Eskom, South Africa is among the world’s top 15 greenhouse gas emitters – pushing out more than Britain, Turkey or France – and has the highest carbon intensity among the Group of 20 largest economies, according to watchdog Climate Transparency.<\/p>\n
“We are going to be the leaders on this continent in relation to renewables,” Ramakgopa said.<\/p>\n
It cut a very different tone from predecessor Gwede Mantashe, who had repeatedly urged resisting international pressure to rush into green energy, questioning its viability.<\/p>\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa\u00a0chose his new cabinet\u00a0at the end of last month, after weeks of horse-trading with other parties following the ruling African National Congress’s unprecedented majority loss in a May election.<\/p>\n
Previously, energy had been tied to mines, under Mantashe, but Ramaphosa hived it off and merged it with Ramokgopa’s electricity ministry, in what analysts saw as a move to decouple energy from coal.<\/p>\n
With 400,000 square kilometres (about 150,000 square miles) of semi-desert and a vast coastline battered by strong winds, South Africa also has some of the world’s most abundant renewable energy potential.<\/p>\n
Yet policy uncertainty has discouraged investment, and activists bemoaned a government decision last year\u00a0to delay decommissioning\u00a0several coal-fired power stations well into 2030, citing energy security.<\/p>\n
Ramokgopa admitted South Africa’s switch to green energy had “taken a bit longer than what is necessary,” and said his priority would be meeting business people to discuss “the hurdles that undermined … their appetite to participate.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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