Renewable Energy: Facts and Futures
24 August 2017
South Africa was one of the first developing countries to pledge emissions reductions – despite not being obliged to do so – when, in 2010, it set emissions reduction targets of 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025 below an unspecified ‘business as usual’ level (Fakir, 2015).
Reducing South Africa’s dependence on coal for generating electricity and increasing the percentage of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix is a so-called ‘low-hanging fruit’ – a goal that can most easily be achieved.
The potential of renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change was highlighted in the National Climate Change Response White Paper, which pointed out the investment in renewable energy programmes as one of the most promising options of climate change mitigation in the electricity sector (DEA, 2015).
Read the Renewable Energy Facts and Futures report by the WWF for a concise and accessible low down on renewable energy in South Africa.
