Working For Energy - Generating Energy, Creating Jobs

News Headlines

• Companies Urged to Study Carbon Tax Document

Companies should seriously consider the National Treasury’s carbon tax discussion document released in December, and conduct thorough research to submit thoughtful economic reasoning, Deloitte tax director Duane Newman said on Monday. Companies have until February 28 to comment on the carbon tax discussion document, which Newman described as a quality document. Read More

• New climate battle looms in South Africa in 2011

The world's governments face a new battle in South Africa in 2011 between rich and poor about slowing climate change, buoyed by some progress in Mexico but with faded hopes for a new treaty in coming years. In 2011, governments will try to build on a deal in Mexico to set up a Green Climate Fund to help channel $100-billion in climate aid a year from 2020, along with new systems to protect tropical forests and share clean technologies. Read More

• SA calls for legally-binding outcome at climate change talks

South Africa and other developing countries called for a legally binding outcome at the climate change talks held in Mexico over the past week. "SA, along with most other developing countries in Africa, called for a two-track legally binding outcome... where developed countries who joined the Kyoto Protocol agree to a second commitment period under the protocol," Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said on Wednesday. Read More

• Climate talks end with modest steps, no Kyoto deal

The world's governments agreed on Saturday to modest steps to combat climate change and to give more money to poor countries, but they put off until next year tough decisions on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The deal includes a Green Climate Fund that would give $100-billion a year in aid to poor nations by 2020, measures to protect tropical forests and ways to share clean energy technologies.

• Cabinet Approves Draft Carbon Tax Policy

The South African Cabinet has approved a draft carbon tax policy, which would be published for public comment “shortly”. Cabinet said that the tax policy presented the environmental and economic rationale for carbon tax measures to address climate change. It was stated that the policy focused on the merits for carbon taxes to price carbon, and sought to thereby influence consumer and producer behaviour through a pricing mechanism. Read More

• Renewable energy investors show strong interest in SA’s Refit opportunity.

South Africa’s Department of Energy (DoE) received 384 responses from renewable energy developers in response to a request for information (RFI) issued at the end of September for the initial phase of the country’s renewable energy feed-in tariff (Refit) programme. In total, the projects represented some 20 000 MW of renewable energy capacity, as well as 4 000 MW of cogeneration capacity. Read More

• IRP2010’s plans for renewable capacity ‘ambitious’ – Energy Economist

The large renewable capacity indicated in the balanced and low-carbon scenarios of the second Integrated Resource Plan or IRP2010, might be somewhat “ambitious”, energy economist Jean-Pierre Favennec said. The balanced plan proposes that 3 800 MW of wind energy be introduced into South Africa's power generation system by 2019. Read More

• Working for Energy in the News

o Working for Energy Scoping Document Released

The Department of Energy (‘DOE”) has approved a National Programme entitled, “Working for Energy” which has three major focus areas, namely the provision of sustainable energy solutions (supply side), demand side management interventions, and the creation of ‘new’, but sustainable job opportunities in South Africa. Read More

o Working for Energy – South Africa’s Alternative

US President Barack Obama calls them ‘Green Jobs’. He promises to create Five-Million of them. The Obama model is to “strategically invest $150-billion over the next ten years to catalyse private efforts to build a clean energy future”.  In South Africa, we do not have money on the same scale, but we have our own examples. A new programme that mirrors the job-creation model of the Working for Water programme needs to be implemented to get ordinary South Africans ‘working for energy’. Read More

o Working for Energy

The Department of Energy (DoE) under an MOU have partnered with SANERI as the Implementing Agent to develop a new national initiative entitled "Working for Energy and accordingly SANERI have established a Programme Management Office and give operational effect to this partnership and the national programme, "Working for Energy". Read More

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