Electricity + Control December 2017

TRANSFORMERS + SUBSTATIONS

of the NPPRs include production of coal, cement, glass, paper, chemicals, metals, electricity and fos- sil fuel refining activities. Evidently the industrial sectors that require significant amounts of ener- gy are targeted by the NPPRs. For an indication, 0,1 MtCO 2 e emissions translates roughly to the consumption of between 30 and 45 ktonnes of diesel, petrol, coal or natural gas. Up and until the introduction of the NGERs, NPPRs and the Declaration of greenhouse gases as prior- ity air pollutants, other environmental regulations, including energy efficiency incentives and renew- able energy production programmes, have been in place for some years and have ultimately resulted in greenhouse gas reductions compared to a situation without such incentives.This is mainly due to South Africa’s carbon intensive energy mix, hence instru- ments aimed at regulating energy-consumption and deviation from carbon intensive energy sources has an indirect impact on the emissions of greenhouse gases. The Regulations however are directly target- ing greenhouse gas emissions through legal obliga- tions to monitor ánd mitigate. It is expected that the introduction of the NGERs, NPPRs and the Declara- Anticipated future greenhouse gas emis- sions regulations

tion is only the beginning of a series of more green- house gas related rules. Some of the regulations that are awaiting promulgation are: the allocation of carbon budgets to companies with carbon intensive production processes; proposed phase out of the so-called F-Gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6 that find ap- plications such as refrigerants, non-stick coatings, high voltage applications, etc.); carbon pricing, e.g. through establishment of a domestic carbon offset mechanism; and of course, the extensively debat- ed carbon tax. Although uncertainty around the introduction of these instruments remains, fact is that climate change is a risk to businesses in South Africa and worldwide. Traditionally climate change would be an issue for companies’ sustainability de- partment. But trends are showing that increasingly organisations are recognising the actual impact of climate change, hence climate change related risk mitigation, as well as maximising opportunities is progressively taking up a central position in compa- nies’ business strategies. Conclusion Whether or not the NPPRs are applicable to your organisation, assessment of the impact that cur- rent and future greenhouse gas legislation has on your business-activities is a sensible thing to do in this dynamic regulatory environment. References [1] Global Carbon Atlas (http://www.globalcarbon- atlas.org) [2] Climate Action Tracker (http://climateaction- tracker.org)

Silvana Claassen, CES South Africa Enquiries +27 (0) 78 097 0852 silvana@carbon-energy-solutions.co.za www.carbon-energy-solutions.co.za