Browsing by Author "Dane, Anthony"

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    Open Access
    MRV of non-GHG aspects of mitigation actions: developing an approach in the South African context
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Dane, Anthony
    Climate change mitigation actions compete with other developmental actions for scarce resources, however climate change mitigation and sustainable development should not be seen as mutually exclusive or competing objectives. Mitigation actions in developing countries need to be prioritized based on least cost actions that maximize developmental benefits. MRV of mitigation co-benefits is important in this regard. This case study considers how to include the MRV of non-GHG impacts of mitigation into the domestic climate change Measurement and Evaluation (M&E) system currently being developed in South Africa. It considers the rationale behind MRV of non-GHG impacts, assesses options for measuring non-GHG impacts and proposes a potential framework for the development of such an approach specifically within the South Africa context. A framework is developed based on a literature review, an assessment of South Africa’s developmental goals and inputs obtained from key stakeholders. Stakeholders interviewed included representatives from national government departments, the private sector, civil society and the South African Designated National Authority. The conceptual approach and preliminary results were presented to the climate change M&E Technical Working Group (a collection of representatives from national government departments, government research institutions, academia, business and NGOs responsible for developing the M&E system in South Africa) for their inputs. The key drivers for measuring non-GHG impacts of mitigation were found to be the alignment of mitigation actions with national developmental objectives, meeting international requirements under the UNFCCC (or an alternative framework) and requirements or preferences of buyers of carbon credits and funders of mitigation actions. There are two distinct opportunities for MRV of non-GHG impacts in the context of these drivers: MRV in the planning and prioritizing of mitigation actions (projections and benchmarks); and MRV of the impacts that measure effectiveness in achieving objectives and inform future decision-making. Critically, significant resources are required to MRV non-GHG impacts of mitigation. Investment in MRV therefore needs to be done on a case-by-case (or category-by-category) basis depending on MRV requirements, the objective of the mitigation action and the extent to which the benefits of MRV will outweigh the costs.
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    The potential of electric vehicles to contribute to South Africa's greenhouse gas emissions targets and other developmental objectives: How appropriate is the investment in electric vehicles as a NAMA?
    (2014) Dane, Anthony
    "Transport consumes 28% of final energy in South Africa, 97% of which is in liquid fuels, and subsequently contributes 13.1% of South Africa’s greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions. The sector is vital for economic development. As the demand for transport services is expected to grow, the industry needs to reduce its significant environmental impact and at the same time deliver improved mobility in a way that contributes towards South Africa’s sustainable development objectives. This case study forms part of a larger project involving the application of the Action Impact Matrix (AIM) methodology for assessing relative impacts of a variety of GHG mitigation options in South Africa. It aims to understand the potential of stimulating the local market for electric vehicles (EVs) and developing the local electromobility industry to contribute towards reducing GHG emissions and contributing towards South Africa’s other developmental objectives. The focus is on private EVs (and largely passenger ones). Electric trains and other forms of public transport have not been explicitly considered. For simplicity the study has not considered hybrids, plug-in hybrids or alternative technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells. In meeting the aim, this study poses the following two key questions: What are the potential impacts (GHG emissions and other developmental impacts) associated with the increased use of EVs and with the development of an element of the e-mobility value chain in South Africa? How could the government create an enabling environment that stimulates the local EV market and allows the successful development of the local e-mobility industry?"
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    Open Access
    Renewable energy choices and water requirements in South Africa
    (University of Cape Town., 2013) Madhlopa, Amos; Keen, Samantha; Sparks, Debbie; Moorlach, Mascha; Dane, Anthony
    South Africa (SA) is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from distant sources. There is also increasing pressure on the limited water resources due to economic and population growth, with a concomitant increase in the energy requirement for water production. This problem will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change. Recently, there have been concerns about negative impacts arising from the exploitation of energy resources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels is significantly contributing to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide (major greenhouse gas). In addition, fossil fuels are getting depleted, thereby decreasing energy security. Consequently, the international community has initiated various interventions, including the transformation of policy and regulatory instruments, to promote sustainable energy. In view of this, SA is making policy and regulatory shifts in line with the international developments. Renewable energy is being promoted as one way of achieving sustainable energy provision in the country. However, some issues require scrutiny in order to understand the water footprint of renewable energy production. Due to the large gap that exists between water supply and demand, trade-offs in water allocation amongst different users are critical. In this vein, the main objective of this study was to investigate renewable energy choices and water requirements in SA. Data was acquired through a combination of a desktop study and expert interviews. Water withdrawal and consumption levels at a given stage of energy production were investigated at international and national levels. Most of the data was collected from secondary sources (literature) and therefore the assessment boundaries are not fully comparable. Results show that there are limited data on all aspects of water usage in the production of energy, accounting in part for the significant variations in the values of water intensity reported in the global literature. It is vital to take into account all aspects of the energy life cycle to enable isolation of stages where substantial amounts of water are used. Conventional fuels (nuclear and fossil fuels) withdraw significant quantities of water over the life-cycle of energy production, especially for thermoelectric power plants operated with a wetcooling system. The quality of water is also adversely affected in some stages of energy production from these fuels. On the other hand, solar photovoltaic and wind energy exhibit the lowest demand for water, and could perhaps be considered the most viable renewable energy options in terms of water withdrawal and consumption.
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    Socio-economic implications of mitigation in the power sector including carbon taxes in South Africa
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2014) Merven, Bruno; Moyo, Alfred; Stone, Adrian; Dane, Anthony; Winkler, Harald
    The structure of this paper is as follows. The first section provides a discussion of recent developments within South Africa aimed at increasing the contribution of renewable energy. The second section gives a brief description of the carbon tax that National Treasury plans to implement and also provides an overview of previous studies on the implications of a carbon tax in South Africa. The linked model that we use for our analysis is described in section 3. This is then followed in section 4 by a description of the scenarios that we modelled, with results presented in section 5. The last section presents the conclusions and recommendations for further research.