Can South Africa Change its Rep as One of the World’s Largest Carbon Emitters?

The country is increasingly being viewed as a pariah that isn’t contributing as much as it could to the international fight against global warming and climate change. With a lot of other countries now moving away from fossil fuel-based electricity, there’s considerable pressure for South Africa to follow. Of the 15 large coal plants in operation, 12 are located on the plateau regions of the province of Mpumalanga in the north-east of the country. But, as elsewhere in the world, South Africa is increasingly looking at alternative energy sources. In its most recent Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, the government has set out a power generation road-map that foresees the addition of about 20 000 MW of solar and wind farms. This amounts to 25% of the projected total power generated in South Africa in 2030.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION