The Integrated Resource Plan – being the new-build plan for a grid-based electricity supply – has gone to Cabinet, having finally moved through Nedlac, where government has been implored to run this process more timeously henceforth. If Cabinet is okay with it, it will move on to Parliament. If not, who knows?
A key barrier to getting agreement on a decisive shift towards renewable energy as our primary resource for electricity generation, is that it has become entirely associated with the introduction of independent power producers through a competitive bidding system.
With this in mind, some argue that rather than asking Cabinet to agree on some simple adjustments, which even if possible may prompt further deliberation in Parliament, better to get the thing formally adopted and remove at least this barrier. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has defied convention in his determination to galvanise effective climate action globally by issuing explicit challenges, calling on heads of state to likewise step up and exercise decisive leadership. While developing countries have recently reiterated the case for the big historical emitters to do more, faster, and to support the mitigation efforts of others, the national circumstances of South Africa do make us stand out.