Energy

amsa-decarbonisation_policy-brief-06-nov-24

Producing Green Steel: an option to decarbonise Arcelormittal South Africa (AMSA)?

Published: 12 November 2024
The policy brief introduces basic concepts around the complexities of steelmaking, including why it has historically been seen as ‘hard to abate’ in terms of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from steel production. It aims to provide a non-technical commentary on AMSA’s Decarbonisation Roadmap suitable for frontline communities and the NGOs they work with to understand and engage with the plans.
talking about green hydrogen

Talking about green hydrogen: popular education materials

Published: 24 March 2023
Increasingly, green hydrogen features prominently in the decarbonisation plans being adopted around the world. Given excellent wind and sun resources, much of it will be produced in global south countries, and exported to global north countries. Countries in the Southern African region are taking notice, and positioning themselves to benefit from these potentially lucrative future markets, by making significant infrastructure investments. But what is green hydrogen? Will investing in it really create jobs and wealth? This booklet presents accessible information regarding the promises, risks and impacts green hydrogen could have for communities in South Africa. It was developed as part of HBF CT’s work to uphold host communities’ right to Free Prior and Informed Consent, and support civil society capacity to engage in hydrogen related policy.
Neither Climate Nor Jobs

Neither Climate Nor Jobs

Published: 5 November 2021
A continuing insistence on nuclear will be detrimental to our ability to power a Just Transition: while the jobs it creates are few and primarily for the highly skilled, its enormous costs will likely result in austerity policies.

Nuclear Energy: All Roads Lead to Economic Paralysis

Published: 23 December 2017
The main purpose of this report is to highlight the different funding models for nuclear power across the globe and to show that no matter what model the SA government chooses, the bottom line is that nuclear is unaffordable, takes too long to build and comes with too many risks.

South Africa - Making the right energy choices

Published: 17 May 2017
On 25 September 2015, the member states of the United Nations agreed on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be the cornerstone of the Post-2015 Development Agenda[1]. The SDGs are acknowledged as a great achievement that amalgamates the sustainability agenda with the development agenda.[2] The South African government has unreservedly endorsed the SDGs, noting that the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality that they address is also the primary focus of the country. As such, the SDGs are conceptually aligned to South Africa's National Development Plan.

Energy Poverty and Gender in Urban South Africa

Published: 19 April 2017
This report presents an update on the current state of energy poverty in South African cities. It explores the energy poverty-gender nexus in the urban environment, an aspect that is largely overlooked.

Alternative Household Energy Technologies: An Overview

Published: 1 March 2017
This booklet briefly examines alternative energy technologies and associated energy sources available in the market that are cleaner, appropriate, applicable and sustainable relative to those that are currently available and used by informal households for their domestic energy requirements.

Final Report - Findings of the African Nuclear Study

Published: 5 August 2015
Given the growing interest in nuclear energy generation from Africa countries, this study takes a closer look at nuclear energy from an African perspective and considers the emerging information in relation to nuclear energy supply in the countries that have advanced plans for nuclear- South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

Renewables in South Africa: The Need for a Developmental Case

Published: 17 March 2014
In contrast to Germany, environmental questions are not yet a voting issue in South Africa. However, providing greater access to energy is a high priority. What can a developing country take away from Germany’s experiences? What are the chances of South Africa taking a leading role in Africa’s Energiewende?

Powering Africa Through Feed-In Tariffs

Published: 17 March 2014
The Heinrich Böll Stiftung and the World Future Council commissioned a comprehensive study to assess the existing and drafted REFiT policies in 13 African countries with the aim of examining the policy drivers and socio-economic effects of REFiTs and analyse both supportive and obstructive factors for their effective implementation. The study shows that, REFiTs are a promising mechanism to unlock renewable energy development in Africa.