OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Rennkamp, Britta"

Browsing by Author "Rennkamp, Britta"

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Open Access
Collective Climate Action, Policy Learning and COVID-19: A Comparative Analysis of the Global Governance and Responses
(2021) Palmer, Leigh-Ann; Rennkamp, Britta
This thesis investigates the governance of two global challenges in terms of policy learning and collective action. The COVID-19 pandemic and anthropogenic climate change pose critical challenges to human well-being as much as they depend on collective responses to contain them. The comparative analysis of governance structures in climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic shows similarities and differences. A significant difference is the timing and pace of the responses: while international organisations and governments took drastic measures in response to the spread of the coronavirus, global and national responses for climate change have been comparatively slow. However, similarities emerge in the nature of the responses to these two global challenges: individual behavioural change is necessary to manage the challenges, which rarely occur without political guidance and public policy. The thesis combines the concepts of collective action and policy learning in a conceptual framework for the comparative analysis of global governance between the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The success of the rapid and large-scale coordinated response to the COVID-19 disease outbreak has indicated that these conceptual notions are required for global governance and that they can be harnessed on a large-scale to address a GPG or commons problem. Therefore, in order to more effectively address the GPG problem of climate change, these conceptual notions of global governance need to be harnessed not only between international organisations and governments but between governments and non-state actors. The shared policy challenges of both crises, therefore, highlight the importance of good policy design and the coordination of actors. The lessons identified can be broadly applied to the global commons problem of climate change and can help policy makers identify where enhanced policy learning and collective action is required. In particular this should be applied to coordinate policy learning and collective action from municipal to global levels and enhance the participation of the global public for long-term climate policy.
Open Access
Competing coalitions: The politics of renewable energy and fossil fuels in Mexico, South Africa and Thailand
(El Sevier, 2017-07-28) Rennkamp, Britta; Haunss, Sebastian; Wongsa, Kridtiyaporn; Ortega, Araceli; Casamadrid, Erika
This paper analyses why middle-income countries incentivize renewable energy despite inexpensive domestic fossil fuel resources and lack of international support. We examine the politics of renewable energy programs in Mexico, South Africa and Thailand. All three countries hold abundant local fossil fuel and renewable energy resources. We argue that renewable energy programs become implementable policy options in fossil fuel resource-rich middle-income countries when coalitions of powerful political actors support them. This study presents an analysis of the domestic coalitions in support of and those in opposition to renewable energy policies from a discourse network perspective. Discourse networks reflect actors and the arguments they share to advance or hamper the policy process. The analysis draws on a data set of 560 coded statements in support or opposition of renewable energy from media articles, policy documents and interviews. Findings show similar structures of competing coalitions in all three countries, with the discourse in all three countries revealing strong linkages between environmental and economic considerations.
Open Access
Competing coalitions: The politics of renewable energy and fossil fuels in Mexico, South Africa and Thailand
(Elsevier, 2017) Rennkamp, Britta; Haunss, Sebastian; Wongsa, Kridtiyaporn; Ortega, Araceli
This paper analyses why middle-income countries incentivize renewable energy despite inexpensive domestic fossil fuel resources and lack of international support. We examine the politics of renewable energy programs in Mexico, South Africa and Thailand. All three countries hold abundant local fossil fuel and renewable energy resources. We argue that renewable energy programs become implementable policy options in fossil fuel resource-rich middle-income countries when coalitions of powerful political actors support them. This study presents an analysis of the domestic coalitions in support of and those in opposition to renewable energy policies from a discourse network perspective. Discourse networks reflect actors and the arguments they share to advance or hamper the policy process. The analysis draws on a data set of 560 coded statements in support or opposition of renewable energy from media articles, policy documents and interviews. Findings show similar structures of competing coalitions in all three countries, with the discourse in all three countries revealing strong linkages between environmental and economic considerations.
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Conceptualizing sustainable development as a global problem: The role of strategic knowledge
(Taylor and Francis, 2010) Rennkamp, Britta
Technological innovation and strategic knowledge are crucial to global problem solving. But in the current global governance architecture 'knowledge' is a marginal issue. Classical economic theories do not take into consideration that knowledge is not a public good, free from rival consumption and exclusion. This article briefly outlines the main problems with these approaches and makes an argument for the strategic knowledge that is required for global problem solution. Furthermore it outlines how states can cooperate linking scientific-technological and development cooperation to achieve more sustainable development paths. Evidence derives from bi-and multilateral cooperation experiences from Germany and South Africa.
Open Access
A consumer assessment of household attitudes, awareness, drivers and likelihood of installing solar water heaters under a monthly payment scheme in Cape Town, South Africa
(2013) Paul, Timothy; Rennkamp, Britta
This paper reviews how incentive mechanisms impact solar water heater (SWH) technology adoption under both monthly payment scheme (MPS) and non-monthly payment scheme (non-MPS) conditions. The key research problem is to try understand why consumers1 have not installed SWHs under non-MPS conditions and whether a MPS can generate better installation rates. SWHs generate clean energy by using the heat of the sun instead of electricity to heat household water. On average, SWHs displace 30 % of household electricity usage, decreasing both household electricity costs and national electricity supply. South Africa has favourable solar conditions and encouraging policy support in the form of long term targets and subsidy incentive schemes. However, it appears that these mechanisms are unable to rapidly incentivise South Africa’s mid to high income households to install SWH units. This paper reviews the MPS incentive mechanism, to examine if it can create a larger scale adoption of SWHs, with the key research question being: ‘How does the monthly payment scheme influence consumer behaviour and their likelihood of adopting solar water heater technologies in the City of Cape Town?’ An important corollary of the research is to gain an understanding of the nature and successes of MPSs in other SWH markets and industry environments. This paper uses case studies to examine successful MPSs in the US PV residential market and in Tunisia’s state-supported SWH program. In order to determine the likelihood of SWH adoption in Cape Town, existing consumer sentiment towards SWHs must be properly understood. Consumer attitudes, awareness and drivers to adopt SWHs will inform the likelihood of adoption, both under MPS and non-MPS conditions. Therefore, this paper investigates the three variables of attitudes, awareness and drivers and the ultimate likelihood of SWH adoption through a questionnaire targeted at respondents from mid to high income households in Cape Town.
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"Development first" in the G-20 and the BRICS? Reflections on Brazil’s foreign politics and civil society
(2012) Rennkamp, Britta
Ever since the Workers’ Party (PT) came to power in 2002, analysts have been puzzled by Brazil’s economic and foreign policies. Even the harshest critics of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva praised his foreign policy strategy, which seemed to truly reflect the ideals of the Workers’ Party in defending national sovereignty, solidarity between developing countries, and Latin American integrity. On the other hand, Lula’s economic policy choices upset many of his supporters, who saw them as not being faithful to the PT’s beliefs (Bourne 2008). Lula’s background (he was from a poor family in the northeast, a militant, and a steelworker unionist) led to high expectations for improvements in the lives of the poorest. At the same time, international investors panicked when the leftist leader was first elected. This essay explores the entanglement between economic policy and foreign policy and the tradeoffs between developmental choices. It looks at foreign and economic policies and Brazil’s engagement in various economic groups: G-20; BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa); BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China); and IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa). The essay proposes two main arguments. Firstly, although the PT’s foreign politics received wide appraisal among scholars and analysts, Lula’s strategy consistently supported his controversial economic development policy. Whenever environmental and social costs clashed, the PT administration pursued a clear approach to “development first.” The conservative interpretation of “development first” created controversy among the party’s supporters.
Open Access
The effect of wind turbine transportation on wind farm development in South Africa
(2014) Takuba, Raymond Chengetai; Rennkamp, Britta
This thesis investigates the transportation of wind turbines in an emerging wind energy market with a focus on South Africa. The research goal is to understand how the transport and the wind energy sectors interact; as well as how turbine transportation can unfold as a barrier to wind farm development in South Africa. Turbine transportation was found to be a key part of the wind farm development process which has been hampered in South Africa by poor planning, the design of the renewable energy procurement program and low cooperation amongst industry participants. Barriers to wind farm development include a shortage of logistics equipment such as cranes and trailers, a shortage of skilled drivers and crane operators and several embedded bottlenecks in the abnormal load transportation process. These factors combined have resulted in a cost premium of 5 - 10% for the turbine transportation process in South Africa as compared to the cost in larger established wind energy markets. The study additionally finds that the wind energy industry could benefit from better coordination of transport projects through industry bodies such as SAWEA, as the transport system is unlikely to be altered in order to accommodate the needs of the wind energy industry.
Open Access
Effectiveness of transnational adaptation initiatives in the Global South
(2021) Kirr, Julia Sophia; Rennkamp, Britta
Current efforts from national governments in the fight against global warming are insufficient and studies suggest that reaching the agreed 1.5°C target is unlikely with existing pledges and targets. Transnational climate change governance (TCCG) has become increasingly pervasive and gained significant political, economic and environmental influence over the past years. However, such efforts are still dominated by actors from the Global North and have for a long time predominantly focused on mitigation. Furthermore, little insights exist into how certain factors are beneficial or detrimental to the success of TCCG. This study assesses the effectiveness of 17 transnational adaptation initiatives in the Global South and investigates how various factors contribute to or hinder the achievement of set goals. Based on documentary analysis and primary interview data, the effectiveness of the initiatives was measured on a three-point scale and crucial aspects with regards to actors, process design and meta-governance were identified. The study finds a strong bias towards coordinating actors from the Global North. Furthermore, stark asymmetries exist in information, resources, interests and power, especially between the North and South, which hinder the achievement of goals. A high level of institutionalization and strong internal organization were identified as beneficial for the effectiveness of transnational adaptation initiatives. In contrast to that, a lack of robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems as well as insufficient funding significantly impede goal achievement. Adequate M&E is hampered by lack of standardization as well as low commitment and buy-in from stakeholders, while lack of funding can become problematic if initiatives are too dependent on one donor and an end to funding threatens the sustainability of a programme. Lastly, alignment with and conduciveness to international regimes and related frameworks as well as collaboration with other initiatives can be beneficial. The study concludes that it is important to strengthen the capacities of actors from the Global South in order to enable them to take over coordinating roles. Furthermore, transnational adaptation initiatives are recommended to invest into institutionalization and establishing good governance structures such as a secretariat with full-time staff and steering committee, as well as management measures. A robust M&E system is required that goes beyond the output level and is well communicated to all stakeholders. Multiple funding sources should be considered in order to avoid too much dependency on one donor and international frameworks should be used and transferred to local levels. Lastly, initiatives are recommended to keep a high level of flexibility in their operations and adapt to the local context.
Open Access
Enabling grassroots innovation by youth in Cape Town's townships
(2016) Louw, Stefan; Rennkamp, Britta
Grassroots innovation has been recognized as a valuable means to empower local communities to address developmental issues. Enabling youth in townships to solve local problems is of particular interest in South Africa due to the poor socioeconomic conditions in these areas. These conditions include high unemployment rates amongst youth, which leads to youth disenfranchisement. There is a lack of support for grassroots innovation because it falls outside of mainstream support structures for innovation. Standard market incentives are less relevant for this socially driven form of innovation. Innovation competitions are a potential alternate mechanism to incentivize grassroots innovation. However, the danger with external incentives is that they can crowd out intrinsic motivation through the overjustification effect. Intrinsic motivation is necessary to increase creativity, performance and long-term engagement in an activity. Therefore, this study seeks to understand what motivates youth to take part in grassroots innovation activities, and how to use an innovation competition to provide appropriate incentives for these motivations. A gamification framework is used to analyse these motivations and the effects of incentives. This is an empirical study that focuses on Innovate the Cape, a high school innovation competition in Cape Town. Furthermore, given that this form of innovation in this developmental context is poorly understood, the learning processes are analysed. An innovation systems approach is used to explore the motivations of the actors and analyse their interactions within this institutional context. A qualitative study was conducted with 18 semi-structured interviews and 9 focus groups. The analysis revealed that participants had a broad range of motivations beyond the competition prize, which was seen more as a means to an end. Dominant motivations included making a social impact, social influence, personal development and the desire to learn. By taking these motivations into account, competition incentives can be used as a means to empower participants through rich learning experiences. Diverse interpersonal interaction and experiential learning were found to be vital components of the learning process. These components are sorely lacking in the local school system. There is a lack of accessible and relevant formal institutional support for early stage grassroots innovation. Furthermore, informal institutional factors underpinned many of the findings on the motivations and learning processes of the participants. On a systems level, it was shown that facilitating innovative behaviour on the grassroots level resulted in institutional building.
Open Access
Exploring Green industrial policy in South Africa through the lens of vertically specialized industrialization
(2017) Murray, David; Rennkamp, Britta
Through various policy mechanisms deployed in the last seven years, the South African government has pursued the localization of renewable energy manufacturing. These efforts are related to the Department of Trade and Industry's broader goals to industrialize the South African economy by increasing the range and value-add of domestically manufactured products. This thesis uses global value chain analysis to determine what ways local wind and solar manufacturing firms relate to this goal by pursuing innovation, upgrading, workforce development, and regional market penetration strategies. The author uses the theoretical framework of Vertically Specialized Industrialization (VSI) as outlined by Milberg, Jiang, and Gereffi as the basis for assessing firm-level governance strategies. The research was performed through semi-structured telephonic interviews with senior level staff at renewable energy firms and non-governmental organizations, as well as a review of public reports. The findings revealed that wind and solar firms are not significantly pursuing upgrading or innovation strategies as associated with VSI. This is likely the result of insufficient market demand and policy incentives, as well as competition from countries with comparative advantage.
Open Access
Feito no Brasil? Made in South Africa? Boosting technological development through local content requirements in the wind energy industry
(Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2013) Rennkamp, Britta; Westin, Fernanda Fortes
How can local content requirements (LCR) boost technological capability for renewable energy? This paper investigates the implementation of LCR in the wind energy in Brazil and South Africa. Brazil tried to grow a local wind industry requiring 60% domestic content in each installation since 2004. South Africa demands up to 45% domestic content in its recent program. The benefits of these requirements are heavily debated. The rationale behind LCR is that governments in developing countries intend to stimulate jobs in new industries and to accelerate technological development. This market intervention imposes a barrier for international manufacturers, as local manufacturing can push up the technology prices. Based on evidence from Brazil and South Africa, we find that LCR fall short as a single technology policy instrument. The Brazilian case shows that LCR incentivized the domestic production of low and medium technology content. These are the heavy parts, such as the towers, which are difficult to transport. Recently, parts of the nacelle, hubs and blades have increasingly been manufactured locally. High technology-intensive components, however, continue to be imported. Boosting local industries requires not just restrictive measure such as content requirements but, more importantly, it requires active support of technological capability.
Open Access
Implementing community renewables: institutional work in South Africa's renewable energy procurement programme
(2017) Wlokas, Holle Linnea; Rennkamp, Britta
In 2014, for the first time in its history, South Africa fed the national electricity grid with electricity generated through utility-scale renewable energy projects. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is the policy instrument driving this change. The process requires bidding private energy companies to commit resources in alleviation of local socio-economic needs. This thesis analyses the question how the institutions evolve in the implementation of community benefit requirements. The theoretical frameworks of institutional work and logics helps to analyse this new organizational field and interaction of various actors in government, industries and communities. An action research approach grounds this research empirically and aims to create the opportunity for actors to reflect on their actions and engagement in the community benefit implementation process. The research asks how are government, companies and communities shape institutions in the implementation of the community benefit requirements in South Africa's REIPPPP? The study first analyses the procurement requirements for community benefit and ownership, then, secondly, reviews the first 64 approved project bids for suggestions made in response to these requirements. A third research step involves fieldwork in 13 wind and solar projects across the country, the fieldwork consisting of interviews with project stakeholders about their experiences. The research negotiates access to an emerging and competitive, but also enquiring industry, one that has shared with the researcher important insights into its evolving community engagement and its development practices and considerations. The findings reveal that, in the implementation of South Africa's community renewables, government and companies dominate institutional work efforts in the stages of policy formulation and project development. But communities, the least informed and capacitated actor among the three, face the results and they have particular ways of responding, including corrective and disruptive ways. Reflective spaces are dominated by industry and strategically exclude communities from both asserting their experiences as well as from the opportunity to participate in creating collective understanding and agreeable processes that would foster the long-term relationship between company and community. This is a shortcoming that requires urgent attention to ensure positive institutional work and developmental impact.
Open Access
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.
Open Access
Low carbon development and poverty: exploring poverty alleviating mitigation action in developing countries
(University of Cape Town, 2012) Wlokas, Holle; Rennkamp, Britta; Torres, Marta; Winkler, Harald; Boyd, Anya; Tyler, Emily; Fedorsky, Catherine
Climate change and poverty mostly fall into the adaptation category in the current research literature and relevant policy-making. The strong connection between poverty and adaptation rests on the assumption that poor countries produce only low carbon emissions. They will also be most affected by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, efforts on poverty and climate change concentrate mostly on adapting to the consequences of climate change. If we acknowledge current findings of poverty research, we find that this separation between mitigation and adaptation does not hold anymore. Recent research suggests that poverty demographics have changed between 1990 and 2010. The majority of the poor nowadays live in middle-income countries, and not only in low-income countries. Emissions in middle-income countries increase, while their governments try to reduce emissions in the long term without jeopardising socio-economic development. Climate change presents a threefold policy challenge for middle-income countries. They need to: i) design mitigation actions in such a way that they contribute to alleviate poverty; ii) reduce emissions, helping to slow global warming in a way that does not compromise the competitiveness of their economies, because without collective action by all, the costs of inaction affect mostly the poor; and iii) prepare to adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate change. The paper unpacks the linkages between low-carbon development, mitigation and poverty in middle-income countries (where the majority of the poor live). Most middle-income countries pursue carbon-intensive development paths and will need to mitigate emissions towards low-carbon development paths. How can mitigation actions contribute to poverty alleviation? An explorative analysis of mitigation actions in five middle-income countries shows that mitigation has moved on the political agendas over the past five years. Yet, these efforts are not necessarily linked with poverty alleviation instruments. Most mitigation action can have positive and negative poverty effects. Their impacts depend on an adequate pro-poor policy mix.
Open Access
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.
Open Access
Policy coherence between biodiversity conservation, climate change and poverty alleviation in Mexico
(2020) Simón Gutiérrez, Ana Alí; Rennkamp, Britta
In the last decades, the impacts of climate change have affected people, societies, economic sectors and ecosystems in all the continents and oceans. Climate change will make povertyalleviation harder by slowing down economic growth, eroding food security, and increasing and creating poverty traps. The poor, that are highly dependent on wildlife and natural resources for their persistence, will be affected the most. However, it seems that environmental priorities are not considered in the developmental agendas. If biodiversity and climate change are not included in policy domains other than the environmental, many negative effects will not be adequately mitigated or minimised. Addressing these multidimensional problems requires policy coherence for improving the outcomes of social and environmental policies, and for using more efficiently the limited resources that developing countries have. The overall aim of this study is to determine if there is coherence between the objectives of the National Development Plan and the sectoral programs of Mexico, with a special focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation, povertyalleviation, and biodiversity conservation. Through a discourse network analysis, it was possible to determine the policy components within each program and to systematically identify the connections between them and investigate if there was policy coherence. Since the documents analysed belong to two different levels of the government, it was possible to analyse vertical and horizontal coherence. The analysis showed that there is vertical coherence between the NDP and the sectoral programs, low coherence between the sectoral programs, as well as low coherence between the four policy components of major interest. This analysis increases the very scarce literature on Mexico's policy coherence, providing empirical evidence that allows finding windows of opportunity for improving the coherence between sectoral programs in the future.
Open Access
A political economy analysis of liquid fuel production incentives in South Africa
(2017) Lott, Tawney; Rennkamp, Britta; Burton, Jesse
The purpose of this study is to analyse the development of South Africa's liquid fuels industry from 1930s to the present and the various ways in which the state has extended subsidies and other measures of support to liquid fuels producers. The nature and extent of government support to the South African liquid fuels industry has remained hidden for many years, due to the veil of secrecy surrounding the industry prior to the country's transition to democracy. The study expands past analyses to identify and estimate the magnitude of subsidies to liquid fuels production in South Africa in the present. Using the historical institutional approach, the study then places these measures of support in the South African political economy environment so as to understand the institutional barriers to their reform. In doing so, the study sheds light on the drivers informing the endurance of the liquid fuels subsidy regime and state support to the liquid fuels industry following the transition to democracy.
Open Access
Reducing inequality and poverty while mitigating climate change: key challenges for research and practice in middle-income countries in Africa and Latin America
(Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Rennkamp, Britta; Moyo, Alfred; Wills, William; Grottera, Carolina
This paper provides some answers to this question and outlines future research on mitigation and inequality. The question is relevant, because developing countries have come under growing pressure to introduce mitigation actions that help to reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. These mitigation actions need to be ‘nationally appropriate’ (UNFCCC 2007) and different from those in the developed countries, taking the economic structures, poverty and inequalities into account. Mitigating emissions and reducing poverty at the same time sharpens the trade-off. Governments need to decide on expenditure of limited resources on poverty or mitigation. According to previous research the need for such a trade-off decreases when countries become richer (Ravallion et al. 2000). This implies that governments have a growing option to achieve both ends.
Open Access
South African approaches to measuring, reporting and verifying: a scoping report
(University of Cape Town. Energy Research Centre, 2012) Boyd, Anya; Rennkamp, Britta; Winkler, Harald; Larmour, Richard; Letete, Thapelo; Rahlao, Sebataolo; Trikam, Ajay
The South African government announced its intention to make emissions data reporting mandatory for emitters of more than a 0.1Mt of greenhouse gases per year in the 2011 National Climate Change Response White Paper. The government intends to establish a ‘climate change response monitoring and evaluation system’, that ‘evolves with international measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements.’ MRV is one of the key topics in the international climate negotiations to create trust and legitimacy. This report presents a mapping exercise of South African approaches to MRV. Research shows that a lot of databases and collections exist already, particularly in the emissions intensive energy sector. However, there is no coherent overall approach to the management of these data. Coordination is necessary for a comprehensive system. Government needs to lead this process ensuring the participation of all departments. It will be necessary to build on the existing structures and capacities to achieve the commitments in the White Paper. Three case studies present existing approaches to GHG reporting, besides the overall scoping. This scoping report is the result from the first phase of the Measurement and Performance Tracking Project that the World Resource Institute conducts in cooperation with the German Ministry for Environment and the Energy Research Centre.
Open Access
South African approaches to MRV of mitigation actions: the case of installing solar water heaters
(Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2012) Rennkamp, Britta
How to measure, report and verify (MRV) mitigation actions? This question calls growing attention in the international negotiations on climate change, because industrialized countries agreed to support developing countries in their efforts of reducing emissions through so-called ‘nationally appropriate mitigation actions’ (NAMAs). In the process of defining those NAMAs, the question stands out how the emission reductions can be verified. This case study illustrates the way ‘MRV’ works in the case of solar water heating. South Africa has no officially registered NAMAs in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) yet. Therefore, we chose one of the most advanced ‘mitigation action’, which is the roll out program for solar water heating, which is a key energy efficiency program. We find that the incentive system matters for collecting data for MRV. The responsible agency for the incentive needs to provide for data collection. The process becomes easier if previsions for MRV are already made in the stage of designing the policy. We recommend to design the MRV system of mitigation based on existing structures, such as the measurement and verification (M&V) standards, which apply to the monitor efficiency programs. We further recommend to make the data collection and management transparent, and to designate an independent, cross-sectorial agency to support the government in the data management and quality control, to ensure coherent and reliable reporting.

Browsing by Author "Rennkamp, Britta"

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