Tag: lower-carbon economy

An interview with Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager Energy Efficiency, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing the Green New Deal (GND) and how harnessing its benefits can help grow the economy and create jobs in a post-COVID-19 world.

While lockdown inadvertently helped to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it is critically important that sustainability of the environment is at the heart of post-COVID-19 recovery efforts. This is where the much-talked about Green New Deal (GND) becomes crucial and while it’s no panacea to economic challenges, harnessing its benefits can help grow the economy and create jobs in a post-COVID-19 world.

It’s a sobering thought, but South Africans have a serious climate change problem. As the world’s 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide, we have a massive role to play in responding to climate change, and a duty to the planet to shift to a lower-carbon economy. As a signatory to the 2015 Paris Accord, United Nations member countries agreed to hasten their transition to a low-carbon future.