Government hold the energy transition workshop in Secunda
The emphasis was also on the diversity of the local economy to reduce dependency on coal and re-skilling and upskilling the most vulnerable in the labour force as well as supporting small businesses and co-operatives within communities.
As the country faces daunting load-shedding, the Mpumalanga government held a two-day workshop to align the Just Energy Transition (JET) programme and activities.
The workshop, to get stakeholders to play a role in JET, was held at Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club in Secunda on May 11 and 12.
The workshop aligns with the measures pronounced by Premier Refilwe Mtsweni -Tsipane during the State of the Provincial Address (SOPA) in February, in achieving the objectives of climate change.
This will be done through a transition from coal to an alternative form of energy such as solar and green energy.
President Cyril Ramaphosa previously emphasised the need for adequate financial support for a just transition that must include significantly larger grant funding to ensure the implementation of active labour market policies, reskilling and upskilling as well as the creation of new industries on a considerable scale.
The premier’s emphasis was also on the diversity of the local economy to reduce dependency on coal and re-skilling and upskilling the most vulnerable in the labour force, as well as supporting small businesses and co-operatives within communities.
Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank country director for South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini represented the World Bank in the workshop.
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She said the World Bank supports the Just Energy Transition programmes around the world and entrepreneurship in this new economy.
The World Bank Group board of executive directors approved South Africa’s request for a $497m (almost R10b) project to decommission and repurpose the Komati coal-fired power plant using renewables and batteries.
Some attendees of the workshop pleaded with the government to be careful when implementing the energy transition and not to cause an economic decline.
