Staff reporter
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) will host a dialogue to address how South Africa’s climate change commitments translate to its energy policies.
The dialogue is part of a series of events that will culminate in a joint DMRE and DFFE colloquium later this year where environmental impact considerations of upstream oil and gas activities will be comprehensively discussed.
Dialogue speakers will include DMRE Director-General Jacob Mbele, DEFF DG Nomfundo Tshabalala, PASA CEO Dr Phindile Masangane and Wits University Professor Lwazi Ngubevana.
The dialogue comes in the wake of a research report by the International Energy Agency outlining possible pathways for Africa’s energy system that are consistent with the pressing need for a transition to a cleaner energy future and achieving the continent’s economic development goals.
The Africa Energy Outlook 2022 report released last month stated that while renewables should be the driving force for Africa’s electricity sector this decade, the continent’s industrialisation required the increased use of natural gas. The report placed the role of gas at the centre of the continent’s industrialisation efforts, which was a critical matter for South Africa.
The report found that if Africa, which is home to 20% of the global population, were to develop and use all the natural gas discoveries it has made to date, it would only increase Africa’s share of global carbon emissions to 3.5%, up from the current 3%.
Speakers: Mr Jacob Mbele, Director-General, DMRE
Ms Nomfundo Tshabalala, Director-General, DFFE
Event details:
Date: July 15, 2022
Time: 9am – 1pm
Image source: Pexels/ Zukiman Mohamad