Browsing by Author "Boulle, Michael"

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    Energy, water and climate change in Southern Africa: what are the issues that need further investment and research?
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Prasad, Gisela; Boulle, Michael; Boyd, Anya; Rahlao, Sebataolo; Wlokas, Holle; Yaholnitsky, Ivan
    Regional climate change projections in Southern Africa, based on GCMs comparing 2080-2099 to 1980-1999, indicate that global warming will most likely lead to greater than the global annual mean temperatures for all seasons, 3.1°C for summer warming and 3.4°C for winter warming (Christensen et al, 2007). Warming in Southern Africa will lead to increasing rainfall intensities, decreasing frequencies of low intensity (soft soaking) rainfall and longer dry period between rainfall events. This will result in more severe draughts, floods and heatwaves, which will lead to greater food insecurity. In historic times, draughts and floods had already major impacts on Southern African populations. Around 1200 to 1500, droughts led people to abandon settlements in the Kalahari Desert. The Lifaqane wars, starting in about 1815, were characterized by a 25-year period of famine and violent conflict between peoples in Southern Africa. During the 1991-1992 draught, 20 million people in the region (15% of SADC population) needed food relief (Dejene et al 2011). Many parts of Southern Africa face two critical resource constraints on development, namely energy and water. Energy and water are closely linked at different levels and scales. Water drives the turbines of hydroelectric power plants. Processing of coal and cooling in thermal and nuclear power plants requires water and energy is required to lift, treat and distribute water. Even at the household level, we observe water-energy linkages. When using water-saving showerheads, for example, we not only save water, but also electricity for heating the water. This complex interconnection is called the water-energy nexus. At the same time, coal-based power plants emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change and climate variability which then leads to floods and droughts. In times of drought little water flows into hydroelectric dams, affecting electricity generation. For rural communities the greater frequencies and severity of droughts and floods caused by climate change leads not only to crop failure and subsequent hunger but also interferes with water supply technologies when, for example, the water levels in boreholes rise or fall beyond the specification of the pump. Thus climate change critically impacts the water-energy nexus. The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada commissioned the Energy Research Centre (ERC) at the University of Cape Town to assess the water-energy nexus in the context of climate change. ‘The goal of the exploratory project is to analyse the way energy and water services can be combined and improved to enhance resilience and adaptive capacity of communities to climate variability and change’. After an introduction to the water-energy nexus in Southern Africa (Chapter 1) and a brief review of the four countries studied as well as climate change scenarios for the Southern African region (Chapter 2), the study reports on the following four major research topics identified by the Southern African team: 1. The state of integrated planning of water and energy resources in the context of climate change (Chapter 3). 2. Opportunities and barriers for renewable energy technologies for rural water services in Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique (Chapters 4 and 5). 3. The water-energy nexus in policies of South Africa (Chapter 6). 4. An investigation of water supply adaptation technologies and strategies in a case study from Lesotho (Chapter 7). The assessment is based on secondary data through a cross-disciplinary desktop study, discussions with experts and two workshops. The countries covered in this report are Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa.
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    Knowledge for change, or more of the same? The roles of policy knowledge systems in the nationally determined contributions of South Africa, Ghana and Kenya
    (2023) Boulle, Michael; Rennkamp, Britta; New Mark
    The Paris Agreement represents a major shift to a more bottom-up global response to climate change, with the Parties of the Agreement, agreeing to formulate their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the global effort, and update these plans every five years. What knowledge is necessary to formulate and quantify climate action to reduce emissions, to adapt and attract financial support? There is an established body of literature that demonstrates that the NDCs are woefully inadequate to get the world on a 1.5⁰C trajectory. A few studies have assessed the drivers of these inadequate outcomes, in terms of the formulation processes and the knowledge systems that shaped the iNDCs and their Updates, and even fewer the evolution between these milestones. As a result, these processes are still poorly understood, particularly in African countries. This thesis analyses how policy knowledge systems evolved over time and shaped the NDC processes, their knowledge system outcomes, and implementation prospects in South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya. It does so by utilising a comparative, qualitative case study research design, drawing on literature and document review, direct observation, semi-structured interviews, and regional workshops as its data collection methods. Data analysis techniques employed include content analysis, qualitative coding, and discourse analysis. The intention of this methodology is to reveal “how” and “why” these processes unfolded as they did in these countries, leading to their outcomes. The research found that the processes set the terms for participation. Policy actors responded through their access to the processes, their knowledge and capacities, to shape the processes and their outcomes. The policy knowledge systems and NDC processes built credibility, legitimacy, and relevance, which were important for building support and consensus, and showed that the state of knowledge influenced the location of consensus and contestation. Not all knowledge held equal currency; those holding technical knowledge and an ability to organise and represent their interests in the terms of the processes, were well represented by the processes while others were marginalised. Although the NDCs were successful in elevating the conversation about climate change, questions remain about how inclusive the processes were, and whether they can support implementation. Lastly, this research demonstrated the ways in which the Updates progressed from the iNDCs. Work remains for future NDC processes and policy knowledge systems to deliver the step change required this decade, to keep the global temperature goal of 1.5⁰C within reach.
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    Novel shapes of South–South collaboration: emerging knowledge networks on co-benefits of climate and development policies
    (Taylor and Francis, 2017-05-02) Rennkamp, Britta; Boulle, Michael
    This paper analyses knowledge networks on co-benefits of climate and development. The world’s most sizeable populations live in middle-income countries with emerging economies and growing emissions. This situation requires political intervention to facilitate economic growth, job creation and poverty eradication alongside efforts to control emissions growth. This interdisciplinary study draws on concepts and methods from sociology, political science, science and technology studies and the management literature. The authors combine social network and discourse network analysis in an innovative way. The methodology analyses both the interactions between researchers as well as their actual knowledge contributions. The study argues that there is a substantial network of knowledge holders involved in knowledge creation on climate and development co-benefits. Our analysis shows the type of interactions between two knowledge networks as well as new knowledge emerging from these networks. Research groups and practitioners have produced 17 novel knowledge contributions, ranging from definitions of co-benefits, methodology and implementation. Yet the networks remain loosely connected. Practitioners who have less time to assess academic literature could benefit from closer interactions with more academically oriented experts and vice versa.
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    The role of bicycles and bicycle empowerment centres in improving the mobility and livelihoods of the poor, and assisting with low-carbon development in Cape Town Michael Joseph Boulle
    (2013) Boulle, Michael; Prasad, Gisela; Wlokas, Holle
    Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.
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    What does the current NAMA-space in South Africa look like? A TERI-NFA NAMA Country Report on South Africa
    (2014) Boyd, Anya; Coetzee, Kim; Boulle, Michael
    Internationally South Africa is regarded as a leader in Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) development, but is this actually the case? Similarly to other countries, South Africa has yet to formally submit a NAMA to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change registry, nor have mitigation actions been articulated as NAMAs at a domestic policy level. This is not to say, however, that mitigation activities are not happening – in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy significant progress has been made in South Africa. Yet these cannot be attributed to the NAMA concept per se. Rather, the drivers relate to energy policy and – very broadly speaking – national climate change objectives as outlined in the current National Climate Change Response Strategy. This paper reviews how South African NAMAs are presented in international literature and how this compares to mitigation actions and national policy development and implementation. It finds that there is disjuncture between what is reflected in the literature and what is observable in South Africa.