As many as 120,000 jobs at risk in SA in shift to renewable energy
There is a push to switch to alternatives such as solar energy, as SA emits the same amount of climate-warming greenhouse gases as the UK
A drive to shift SA’s electricity production to renewable energy is threatening as many as 120,000 jobs at coal mines and ageing power plants that use the fuel even as it will reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a research consultancy said.
The transition could threaten economic activity in four municipalities with a population of more than 2.3-million people, said Muhammed Patel, an economist at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, known as TIPS, on a webinar on Tuesday. In the Emalahleni municipal area, coal-related activities make up 44% of the economy. Most of the country’s coal is mined in the municipal areas, which lie in the eastern province of Mpumalanga...
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