The British High Commission has invested over £3 million (R64 million) in funding to support 10 of SA’s climate change projects, as part of its UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) programme.
According to a statement, the projects, selected through a competitive process, respond to the climate change mitigation priorities of a number of key government institutions, to support SA’s transition to a low-carbon, inclusive, climate-resilient economy and society.
Among the funded projects is the Electric Vehicle Readiness programme in the City of Johannesburg run by non-profit organisation Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA), and the Shifting the Transport Paradigm project in the Eastern Cape – established by the Department of Transport, the Western Cape Provincial Government and the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.
The two projects form part of SA’s Green Transport Strategy 2050, introduced by the Department of Transport in 2019 to ramp up SA’s transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) and low-carbon mobility, whileboosting economic growth and creating jobs.
As part of its low carbon and clean energy vision, SEA has proposed a wide-scale rollout of EVs towean SA’s public transport system off fossil fuels and onto renewables.
The adoption of electric minibus taxis and electric buses across the country is forecast to save the industry millions of rands due to long-term cheaper maintenance costs, affordable operating costs, improved safety and avoiding the constant petrol hikes, while meeting SA’s greener mobility goals, notes SEA.
Unlike its international counterparts, SA’s commuter transport services are not subsidised by government, resulting in commuters absorbing the fare increases.
“As host of COP 26 and a long-standing development, trade and investment partner, I am delighted that we are launching this range of projects aimed at supporting green, resilient and inclusive economic growth in South Africa,” says Nigel Casey, British high commissioner.
“The world is focusing on both climate and COVID-19 recovery and we want to support South Africa to be at the forefront of the movement to build back better.”
The Shifting the Transport Paradigm project, based in Port Elizabeth, is managed by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in collaboration with energy infrastructure provider Low Carbon and Fuel Cells Centre of Excellence.
The university’s e-Mobility Technology Innovation Programme,an initiative of the Technology Innovation Agency,has invested millions of rands in support of local public charging infrastructure technologies, through its uYilo Kick-Start Fund.
uYilo has also developed a smart grid facility based at the Nelson Mandela University, aimed at providing a live-testing environment for EV fleets and the related infrastructure ecosystem.
While SA's adoption of EVs is gaining traction, South Africans are still a long way off on the adoption of EVs, according to AutoTrader. This is due to several factors, including affordability, substantial import taxes and infrastructural development.
As COP 26 president designate, the UK says it is committed to ensuring an ambitious and equitable outcome is achieved at theclimate change conference Glasgow in 2021. This means attaching equal priority to the three pillars of the Paris Agreement – mitigation, adaptation and finance.
The 10 funded projects focus on three priority areas of climate change action and greenhouse gas emissions reduction: energy, sustainable mobility and sustainable finance, according to the commission.
“As arguably the most salient challenge confronting South Africa’s energy sector, four projects have been selected focusing on the just energy transition.
“These projects will support beneficiaries at municipal, provincial and national government levels to formulate energy transition pathways that are inclusive of vulnerable communities, identifying new employment opportunities within the green economy and which capacitate various actors in the energy sector to implement low-carbon energy technologies,” says the commission.
In terms of the sustainable finance category, two projects have been selected, which will help drive access to green finance and scale up sustainable investment in SA through transparency and climate-related risk management.
Full list of funded projects, implementing partners and beneficiary organisations.
| Project Title | Implementing Partners | Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|
| Distilling the Just Energy Transition in SA: Harmonising Conflict and Seeking Opportunities | TIPS (Lead), NALEDI, Peta Wolpe, GroundWork | eMalahleni Local Municipality, Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) , Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Trade Unions (through NALEDI), Mpumalanga Provincial Government |
| Climate Transitions Protocol | National Business Initiative (NBI) | NBI Private Sector Membership, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), DEFF |
| Building the Green Hydrogen Economy Just Energy Transition: Co-creating a Just Labour Transition through the TVET College System in SA | SAIIA (Lead), TIPS, UCT Energy Research Centre, KPMG, Bambili Energy | DSI, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), DTIC and Energy and Water SETA (EW SETA) |
| The Development of a Green Economy Cluster Organisation to Support Mpumalanga’s Role in the Validation, Implementation and Follow-on Research of the SAREM | GreenCape | Mpumalanga Provincial Government, DTIC, DSI and Renewable Energy Industry Associations (SAREC, SAWEA, STASA, SAPVIA) |
| Alternative Financing Models for Embedded Generation of Renewable Energy in South African Municipalities | ICLEI Africa (Lead), Rebel Group and 3E | DBSA and a number of secondary municipalities |
| Operationalising Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in South Africa | Carbon Trust (Lead) and GBCSA | SANEDI |
| Driving the green agenda through aligning South Africa’s climate-related financial disclosure with global best practice | DNA Economics (Lead), the GreenHouse, Vivid Economics and WWF-SA | National Treasury, Association for Savings and Investment in SA (ASISA), Council for Retirement Funds for South Africa (BATSETA), Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), Government Employees Pension Fund and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) |
| Expanding the South African Green Finance Taxonomy and Embedding its use | NBI (Lead) and Carbon Trust | The National Treasury (NT), DEFF, JSE, Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) |
| Shifting the Transport Paradigm – Electric Vehicles | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and CENEX | DoT, DEFF and Western Cape Provincial Government |
| Electric Vehicle Readiness in City of Johannesburg | Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA) | City of Johannesburg, South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Department of Transport (DoT) |
Share