Reactive to Sairec Opening Address

REACTIVE TO SAIREC OPENING ADDRESS:

Greenpeace: pro renewable energy rhetoric must be matched by action

Cape Town, 5 October 2015: The opening ceremony of the day of the four-day South African International Renewable Energy Conference (SAIREC)[1], was addressed by South African Energy Minister Tina Joemat- Pettersson.

Responding to this address, Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director for Greenpeace International has said:

“Greenpeace welcomes the Minister’s statements in support of renewable energy, and the announcement of a 1500MW legacy solar project in the Northern Cape. However, the importance of a supportive regulatory framework and ambitious overall renewable energy targets cannot be underestimated to drive the investments in renewable energy in order to deliver energy security and maximise socio-economic benefits. It is now urgent that the remaining barriers to renewable energy in South Africa are removed, and the country’s overall target of 17 800 MW[3] of renewable energy by 2030 is tripled”.

Notes to the editor:

1. South Africa becomes the sixth country and the first in Africa, to host the International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC). Convened by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), IREC is a high-level political conference series hosted by a national government. The South African International Renewable Energy Conference (SAIREC), hosted by the South African Department of Energy together with the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) - under the theme RE- energizing Africa - provides a global platform for government ministers, private sector players and civil society to discuss and exchange their vision, experiences and solutions to accelerate the scale-up of renewable energy in Africa and globally.

2. While the Department of Energy has been consistently announcing new bidding windows for the country’s private renewable energy programme and announcing incremental increases in renewable energy allocations, all of the current ambitions (including those announced by Energy Minister Joemat-Pettersson this morning) fall well within the 17800MW of renewable energy that are aimed for by 2030 in the current IRP2010. Greenpeace believes that this target is insufficient to drive investment and growth while combating some of the worst impacts of climate change.

NOTE: Greenpeace will be hosting a side event on Tuesday 6 October from 13:00 – 14:30 in Ballroom East entitled ‘It’s not science fiction: achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050’. Presentations will be made by Christine Lins (REN 21), Kumi Naidoo (Greenpeace International Executive Director), Emily Rochon (Technical Lead, Greenpeace International) and Lindlyn Moma (Programme Director, Greenpeace Africa). There will be a special focus on Africa and the developing world.

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