The just transition from coal to renewable energy formed part of the discussions between President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Saudi Arabia government.
But Ramaphosa said on Sunday that was not the only matter he discussed with Crown Prince and prime minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud at the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
“The discussions did centre on energy but not solely energy. Of course, Saudi Arabia is a great producer of energy and already focuses not only on petroleum energy but also renewables,” he told reporters.
The discussions on energy come at a time SA is battling to keep the lights on after various stages of load-shedding. Ramaphosa was recently forced to cut short a trip abroad after the country was plunged into darkness.
In June he established a national energy crisis committee led by director-general in his office Phindile Baleni. The national energy crisis committee aims to end load-shedding and provide long-term energy security.
Ramaphosa said SA was looking to partner with Saudi Arabia to address several problems.
“They look at SA as one of the key players in the world on green or hydrogen energy. They want to partner and be in that space with us.
We will not want to transit to renewable energies and leave our people behind, leave ghost towns and workers without jobs.
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
“A partnership between SA and Saudi Arabia and other countries is going to be a great boon for SA because we have the endowments that play a key role in hydrogen energy and we see that in many ways as a game changer.”
He added that most of the unions in the mining sector have a reason to be concerned about the transition to renewable energy because they fear it will result in mass job losses.
But Ramaphosa says the government will try to ensure “no-one is left behind”.
“Any transition or movement from fossil fuels, which is inevitable , must be based on a just transition which will take into account the jobs of the people who work on our coal mines, communities that live around our coal mines as well as looking after the environment.”
He said the country’s deal at COP26 will focus on a just transition. SA is set to receive $8.5bn (R156bn) to help end its reliance on coal in a deal funded by richer countries and announced at the COP26 climate summit last year.
“We will not want to transit to renewable energies and leave our people behind, leave ghost towns and workers without jobs.”
He said the good thing was that the unions in coal mining as well as labour federation Cosatu had crafted clear policies on what the just transition should be.
“That is what we want to see implemented. We don’t want to move forward and leave people behind. We are very clear as we embrace renewables that it has got to be on a just basis.”
He said new technologies are beckoning and SA needs to heed the call.
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