Gwede Mantashe Says South Africa’s Green Future Will Result in Unemployment, Calls for Slow Energy Transition

• Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said that South Africa must not be hasty in transitioning away from its dependence on coal energy
• Speaking at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, Mantashe said the west should not determine the pace of Africa's energy transition.
• Mantashe's comments come as a watershed R131 billion decarbonisation deal from developed nations is in jeopardy of collapse

CAPE TOWN - Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has again endorsed fossil fuels, saying a speedy transition to renewable will increase unemployment and deepen energy poverty.

The Energy Minister made these comments during an address at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town on Tuesday, 4 October.

Civil Society groups have been protesting outside the conference, with many climate activists armed with banners that say "fossil fuels kill", but according to Mantashe, hunger kills faster.

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Mantashe said the transition to clean energy must be systematic and include support from gas and other energy systems.

Mantashe added that Africa that the global north should refrain from imposing their policies on the pace of a just transition away from fossil fuels. This comes as the watershed R131 billion funding deal to decarbonise SA's energy is in jeopardy of following apart, News24 reports.

President Cyril Ramaphosa secured the funding during the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, Scottland, in November 2021. The European Union, Germany, France, the UK and The US agreed to finance the move from SA's heavy dependence on coal in favour of clean, renewable energy.

Mantashe referred to the watershed energy deal in a video he shared on Twitter, juxtaposing the profitability of coal with the decarbonisation deal. The energy minister claimed that fossil fuels are more profitable because coal-generated R130 billion in the 2021 financial year.

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Mantashe said:

" The deal is R131 billion, and coal is R130 billion, therefore were are told to move away from coal for R1 billion."

South Africans react to Mantashe's comments

Some South Africans agree with Mantashe, while others believe the energy minister is tone deaf to both the energy and climate crisis.

Below are some reactions:

@kaamil_alli said:

"It's funny. Food insecurity is directly linked to the climate crisis."

@shazzycat10 suggested:

"Then turn the money down until you are ready to transition. No money...no pressure"

@NOXmahlangu added:

"Ebile the West is the last to tell us about the energy transition."

@DURITZ79 pointed out:

"@GwedeMantashe1 is holding the country hostage while the man on the street suffers through level 4 loading, while his Pretoria ministerial home does not. And he doesn’t even pay for it."

@abelmike asked:

"Is the continent or South Africa being dictated too from the outside, or are we, in truth, being dictated to from the inside? I don’t buy this narrative one scrap."

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EFF has zero faith in new Eskom board’s ability to bring an end to loadshedding

Previously, Briefly News reported that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are not convinced that the new Eskom board will solve any of the power utility challenges.

The Red Berets claim that the power utility has four primary issues due to the absence of a coherent energy policy, thoughtless enforcement of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), an inept and ignorant CEO and COO and conflicts of interest.

Source: Briefly News