Mechanical Technology June 2016

⎪ Sustainable energy and energy management ⎪

with continuous benefits in local poverty alleviation.

ers for projects implemented in specific areas if data for underdeveloped zones is provided and administrative steps fol- lowed. The criteria for underdeveloped zone applications can change over time, but it is linked to the income per person per month, based on data not older than three years. Taking the 2011 South Africa food poverty line of R321, the number of qualifying wards is 956. This includes 45 local municipalities, which comply with the criteria in full. These 956 wards are spread across 117 different local municipalities. With the US$2 World Bank Purchasing Power Parity of R286, the number of qualifying wards is 911, including 37 local municipalities. In the respective long-term Integrated Development Plans prepared and updat- ed annually, the 37 local municipalities have linked climate change to disaster management and ecosystem preserva- tion. Carbon finance can increase resil- ience in these areas and unlock invest- ment for service delivery improvement. Carbon offset projects are well suited for municipal Integrated Development Plans as they are longer-term initiatives

three programmes identified in the South African offset scheme to reduce barriers to project registration through automatic additionality, positive lists and standardised baselines. • Streamlining the administrative pro- cess of project registration based on these interventions. Project implementers in South Africa can get access to these fast track options if the Designated National Authority takes certain actions, including: • Making data on technology penetra- tion rates proving automatic addition- ality available to project developers. • Updating the current standardised baseline for grid electricity, which is expiring in May 2016. Low carbon development in underde- veloped regions in South Africa will not only assist in reducing extreme poverty in these regions, but also help to reduce migration of vulnerable people from these areas. This, in turn, will assist to alleviate inequality in South Africa. Obtaining the data supporting the identification of the underdeveloped zones could be funded through the adaptation part of the Global Environmental Fund. q

Conclusion and way forward It is widely recognised that an effective response to climate change requires an increased level of mitigation action. South Africa is in the process of imple- menting an innovative carbon tax and offset scheme in 2017. Offset projects provide valuable GHG mitigation and support low carbon economic development opportunities in South Africa while offering financial benefit to tax payers. Investment in these carbon-offset projects should be fast tracked enabling implementation in 2016, in order to be ready for trading against carbon tax in 2017. The main challenges with carbon offset project development are that it is very time consuming and that significant upfront costs and effort are typically involved. It is only with data gathering, analysis, projections and verification that these baselines can be set. The fast track options can assist low carbon development through: • Utilising recent developments in the

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Mechanical Technology — June 2016

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