Climate Change & Energy

The Republic of South Africa and Germany have agreed to intensify their cooperation in the field of climate change and energy. The main objective is to increase investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as to make a contribution to the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to achieve this aim, the German Development Cooperation implements the following support programmes:

The Climate Support Programme (CSP)

South Africa is aiming to reduce its green house gas emissions by 34 per cent by 2020 and 42 per cent by the year 2025. On behalf of the German government GIZ is supporting the country in achieving these ambitious goals. It helped compile the White Paper on South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Policy and is supporting the Department of Environmental Affairs in preparing nationally for COP17 - particularly in strengthening public understanding and consciousness of climate change and its effects, and in raising the awareness of the country’s population for small but effective means of adaptation. Germany is contributing about ZAR 42 million to this project.

South African – German Energy Programme (SAGEN)

South Africa has a high potential for using renewable energy and increasing the energy efficiency in all sectors of the economy without putting at risk economic growth or welfare. The German Energy Programme aims at improving framework conditions and capacities for enhanced investments in renewable energies and energy efficiency in the country. GIZ supports South Africa in designing and implementing policies and programmes to promote the deployment of renewable energy and increased energy efficiency throughout the economy. By promoting investments in clean energy through the creation of favourable framework conditions, the programme also contributes to the creation of jobs. The German Government contributes about ZAR 110 million to the programme.

Energy Efficiency: The Green Energy Efficiency Fund (GEEF)

Within the frame of the South African Development Cooperation, Germany and South Africa have set up the Green Energy Efficiency Fund (GEEF). Its aim is to provide interest reduced loans for energy efficient projects and renewable energies. It is administered by the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC) and backed with a financing of 50 million Euro from the German Development Bank (KfW). The GEEF-funding is available to companies and projects that will provide significant energy savings and/or emissions reductions, or that will substitute grid-connected electricity with renewable energy generation for self-use. This will reduce their electricity bill and save CO² emissions.

Support the Clean Energies: Solar

South Africa has abundant potential for solar energy as it has one of the highest solar radiations. With the support of the German government, KfW co-finances a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant in the Northern Cape. It is the first of its kind in South Africa and with a capacity of up to 100 MW it will be one of the largest CSP plants worldwide. It will generate clean solar energy for ESKOM and help reduce South Africa’s carbon footprint. Furthermore, KfW supports the electrification of poor rural areas of the Eastern Cape through a broad-based photovoltaic programme – and the financing of Solar Water Heater (SWH) programmes through the national Development Banks, which help reducing the electricity consumption of households. (Foto: © KfW-Bildarchiv / photothek.net)

Building Energy Auditors Training Project

In order to promote energy efficiency and create jobs, the South African Government has initiated several programmes, one of which is aimed at auditing the energy consumption of public buildings and making the necessary adjustments. In cooperation with GIZ the Department of Environmental Affairs launched a pilot project in 2010 to train 100 energy auditors, develop state-of-the-art training material and establish a network of training providers to replicate the training. The German Government contributes about ZAR 3 million to the pilot project.

Adapting to Climate Change: Mooi Mgeni Transfer Scheme (MMTS)

Due to climate change, South Africa will face water shortages in the coming decades. Therefore, KfW, in cooperation with other Development Banks, is financing the extension of the water catchment area for Greater Durban. The purpose of the project is to supplement the yield of the Mgeni System, one of the three systems supplying water to the people living in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. Once completed, the project will provide an additional 60 million m³ water per year, address water delivery backlogs, and improve the security of supply to 6.3 million people.

The Bus Rapid Transit System

The KfW Development Bank and GIZ International Services supported Johannesburg in the development of a bus rapid transport system that today encompasses bus routes covering a total distance of 25,5 kilometres, on which around 143 buses travel. More than 40,000 passengers use the new bus routes each day. By 2013, the City of Johannesburg is aiming to expand the route network to 120 kilometres and 805 buses. In this way the new rapid transit system is not only setting an example for South Africa, but is also making a sizeable contribution to climate protection by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. Germany has contributed about ZAR 20 million to the project. Read more…

Pedestrians and Bicycles

Germany promotes the development of non-motorised transport (NMT) in several cities in South Africa. A key component of the respective project is the extension of the cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in eThekwini for COP 17 and beyond. The NMT project provides climate-friendly alternatives to the car-intensive transport sector in South Africa and makes it easier, safer and less expensive for people to reach their places of work and of education. An energy efficient transport system, contributes to road safety, economic possibilities for the poor and CO² emission savings.

Transboundary Water Management

Southern Africa is a water-stressed region. Though water is a common good, it is unequally distributed, both in space and time. Potential conflicts arising from unequal and inequitable distribution are therefore always a cause for concern. At the same time, transboundary waters are the lifeline for the people in Southern Africa. GIZ, together with the Southern African Development Community supports transboundary water management on behalf of the German, British and Australian governments to ensure sustainable and equitable water management in the SADC region. Strategies for sustainably managing shared water resources have been developed including a recent adaptation strategy to climate change and are now being implemented. The German Government supports the programme with about ZAR 60 million. Read more…

Sustainable Forestry and Nature Conservation

The Miombo woodland is the second largest sprawling African forest area. It stretches from the southern Congo to northern Botswana and to Mozambique and encompasses parts of Angola, Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The woodland forms the basis of livelihood for the inhabitants of this area. It provides building material, firewood and charcoal, the only source of income worth mentioning. Increasing parts of the forest were cut down for this purpose. GIZ supports the Southern African Development Community in improving the quality of life of the people living in the Miombo woodland in the SADC region and maintaining the biodiversity of the forest and its climate-protecting function. Germany supports the programme with about ZAR 25 million. Read more…

Monitoring, Reporting and Verification

Deforestation and utilisation of forests as source of burning material contribute to an increase of greenhouse gases. At the same time the trees are no longer available as carbon dioxide storage. The Southern African Development Community declared the reduction of emissions through deforestation or reforestation a political priority and has set itself the goal of protecting the forest in its member states and assuming an internationally leading role in its endeavours of climate protection. GIZ will support SADC in introducing an integrated monitoring system that will measure and verify the reduction of emissions through deforestation and reforestation and that will thus get the community ‘REDD-ready’. The German Government supports the programme with about ZAR 34 million.

Water Conservation and Water Demand Management in Emfuleni

Large sections of the population in the South African province of Gauteng and almost 60 per cent of South African industry are dependent on water from the river area of the Vaal, but already more water is being drawn than is sustainably tenable. The many leaks in public and private water-supply systems constitute one of the main problems that municipalities face. GIZ has embarked on a development partnership project with the municipality of Emfuleni and petro-chemicals company Sasol that aims at reducing water losses drastically by overhauling the public and private water-reticulation systems and retro-fitting installations in private households. The project will save the municipality a billion litres of water a month and around 60 million Rands a year. Germany together with the British and Australian governments contributes about ZAR 5 million to the project.

Piloting Development Opportunities from Electronic Waste

Electronic or e-waste is any form of electrical or electronic technology that is no longer required. Mismanagement of e-waste is resulting in large-scale dumping, often in open landfills. Since e-waste contains valuable components such as aluminium, copper, palladium and gold, but also highly toxic elements, scavenging of waste by adults and often children for income generation can pose a health risk. In a development partnership with Africa’s largest mobile telecommunications company MTN, GIZ has started an e-waste project which aims at developing public awareness, establishing collection points and supporting recycling businesses The project is intended as a model for sustainable growth of e-waste recycling. The German Government contributed about ZAR 2 million to the pilot project.

Energy-efficient houses for low-income earners

The Gap housing project offers low-income earners the chance to buy property from the state at low prices, on which selected building contractors have erected houses. Experts estimate that around three million ‚gap houses‘ will still be built in the next 15 years. With high demand and a low budget energy efficiency did not feature in the planning and building of these houses. The reason lay above all in the fact that energy efficiency and the economically priced construction of houses appeared to be incompatible. The pilot project that GIZ has carried out together with South African First National Bank proved the opposite. The German Government contributed about ZAR 400 000 to the pilot project.

Supermarket Refrigeration: From F-Gases to Natural Refrigerants

Supermarkets are an important sector of the economy, but need large amounts of electricity, of which most is used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems. It is therefore essential to explore options to increase their energy efficiency. Changing freezers and refrigeration equipment from fluorinated gases with high ozone-depletion and/or global warming potential to natural refrigerants with favourable thermodynamic properties like the climate- and ozone-friendly ammonia and CO2 is one option with considerable energy saving potential. Therefore South Africa’s large supermarket chain Pick’n Pay has started to change its refrigeration gases to natural refrigerants on cooperation with GIZ. The German Government contributed about ZAR 17 million to the project. Download the project fact sheet…

The Water Futures Partnership

Water is a fundamental shared resource for communities, agriculture, business and government. Damage to ecosystems from over abstraction and pollution of water resources has far-reaching consequences. GIZ, SABMiller and WWF entered into a development partnership which aims to assess and reduce shared water risks using participatory approaches to strengthen water stewardship and governance in specific watersheds in South Africa, Tansania, Ukraine and Peru. The project demonstrates how a leading global company can engage in innovative partnerships to collectively reduce shared water risks, by promoting better watershed management and the conservation of freshwater eco-systems. The German Government supports the Water Futures Partnership with about ZAR 10 million.