Browsing by Subject "energy policies"

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    Aligning South African energy and climate change mitigation policy
    (2009) Tyler, Emily
    This paper considers the alignment of energy policy in South Africa with the Cabinet’s mitigation vision of a ‘peak, plateau and decline’ greenhouse gas emissions trajectory to 2050. First, the term ‘policy’ is defined as having a number of components, ranging from the broad ‘policy paradigm’ which guides the approach to policy development in a particular area, to statements and intentions, written documents and institutional orientation and capacity. Following from this definition it is argued that, at the level of written and stated energy policy, the intention exists to move towards a more diverse, efficient and less carbon-intensive energy sector. A number of policy instruments are being developed which go some way towards achieving this. However, the targets set are too low, and all initiatives are hampered for institutional and financing reasons. On the other hand, however, the dominant energy policy paradigm and the orientation and capacity of the country’s energy institutions are fundamentally misaligned with climate mitigation policy. In particular, conflicts between these institutions constrain policy co-ordination and hence alignment. The primary causes of misalignment are argued to be, firstly, existing and entrenched institutional orientation and capacity and, secondly, the lack of a single, overarching, co-ordinating energy policy institution which has sufficient power and influence to deal with the vested interests of the existing energy institutions. The paper then explores, by means of thought experiments in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, what would be required to align energy policy with Cabinet’s mitigation vision. The establishment of a single, overarching, co-ordinating energy policy institution is identified as a pre-requisite to any chance of alignment. This institution would then establish and govern appropriately oriented institutional capacity, either by creating new institutions, or mandating existing institutions to deliver on low carbon initiatives. It is suggested that whilst new capacity would be optimal, it may be unrealistic to attain this level of sector transformation within the timeframes required by mitigation policy, given the strongly entrenched interests in maintaining the status quo. The paper concludes that intervention at the highest political level is required to enforce energy institutional co-ordination and achieve actualisation of emissions mitigation aligned energy policies.
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    Energy in Central Africa : with special reference to Zaire
    (1993) Bisengo, Kumbu; Dutkiewicz, Ryszard Karol
    In this thesis, the energy sector of the Central Africa region is investigated with a special attention to Zaire. The region's political trends, economic performance, demographic and social patterns as well as their implications in the development of the energy sector are presented. For each country of the region the resource potential and the ability to produce, distribute and use these energy resources, are analyzed. The potential for the development of energy resources of the region is examined and its future energy demand forecast. The scope for energy interchange inside and outside the region is analyzed and regional integration in the energy sector discussed. The findings of this thesis are: * there is an abundance of energy resources though not evenly distributed throughout the region, * there is a heavy reliance on woodfuel, and * there are many problems constraining the development of the energy sector. The principal issues facing the energy sector are: *the shortage of woodfuel due to the non-sustainability of supply, *the low reliability of power supply and the existence of surplus capacity in some countries, *the high supply cost of petroleum products, *the limited size of the local commercial fuel market and the lack of finance to develop domestic energy resources, *the low level of management and financial autonomy for energy utilities, *the lack of energy trade because of political instability, and institutional shortcomings. Forecasts of future energy consumption in the region indicate that woodfuel will continue to be the dominant energy form, followed by oil and electricity, and that electricity will play an increasing role. Recommendations for the woodfuel subsector relates to improving the production and utilization efficiency - valid also for the other energy carriers, increasing the supply through reforestation programmes and accelerating electrification. Other recommendations to improve the development of the energy sector include: * recovering energy supply cost through adequate pricing and improved collection practices, * reducing government interference and introducing private participation in the energy sector with the subsequent benefit of the transfer of new technology and managerial competence, and * strengthening energy institutions to enable them to improve planning, implementations, operations, and ensure the integration of traditional and commercial energy structures . The possibilities of energy interchange are large for oil and electricity, and energy trade could improve energy utilization, lower supply costs, etc. Under prevailing socio-economic conditions, regional integration is thought to be the only realistic strategy leading to the economic exploitation of energy resources and the adequate supply of energy to support industrial development of the region and to meet the social needs of its people. In this connection, major efforts should be directed towards the establishment of appropriate regional energy institutions, but political stability is a prerequisite to any effective energy integration.
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    South African Energy Policies for Sustainable Development
    (University of Cape Town, 2005) Winkler, Harald; Alfstad, Thomas; Howells, Mark
    This report models a range of energy policies for sustainable development in South Africa and evaluates the results against energy indicators of sustainable development. Demand- and supply-side policies exist that can contribute both to energy objectives, and also to broader sustainable development goals. The report builds on previous work on a South African profile on energy for sustainable development (ERC 2004a), identifying, modelling and evaluating future policy options. The purpose of the report is to present possible energy futures for the country and to demonstrate how indicators of sustainable development can be used to assess options. This method, we argue, provides the means for policymakers to identify synergies and trade-offs between options, and to evaluate them in economic, social and environmental dimensions.