Ricardo-AEA has today revealed its contribution to a landmark report published by the government of South Africa in November, outlining the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential.
The report was launched by Minister Edna Molewa at South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Dialogue. This event brought together stakeholders across the whole country to reflect upon South Africa’s journey towards a lower carbon and climate-resilient economy over the last decade, and to discuss tangible actions to enhance the delivery of these objectives in the future.
The report’s findings will play a key role in helping the South African government to identify actions, and to set sectoral GHG reduction limits. It identifies mitigation options in key economic sectors, and includes an updated projection of national GHG emissions along with marginal abatement cost curves for key sectors. A socio-economic and environmental assessment of the identified mitigation options is also included.
The report shows that South African GHG emissions would reach 663 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2020 and 1,593 MtCO2e by 2050 based on policies currently in place (the reference case). However, emissions could be reduced by as much as 15 percent in 2020 and 54 percent in 2050 if all available mitigation options were taken up.
Ricardo-AEA’s contribution to the report was made as part of a project for the South African Department of Environmental Affairs led by Camco Clean Energy. Ricardo-AEA’s work on the project involved leading the development of emissions projections up to 2050 and analysing emissions reduction opportunities for the transport, waste and energy sectors. Experts from the consultancy travelled to South Africa on a number of occasions to meet with key stakeholders and consult on technical issues.
“We were delighted to work on this important project for the South African government,” said Ricardo-AEA knowledge leader Dan Forster. “South Africa’s approach to mitigating climate change seeks to strike a balance that will enable the reduction of GHG emissions, while maintaining economic competitiveness and realising developmental goals. This report should help the country to understand the different mitigation options that are available and their socio-economic and environmental impacts.”
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