Cooling towers at the Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Arnot coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023. Coal-fired power plants operated by South Africa’s state utility are emitting pollutants that primarily cause respiratory diseases such as asthma at almost 42 times the intensity of those in China. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg)
South Africa will probably fail to achieve its net-zero emissions goal by 2050 as outlined in the latest Integrated Resource Plan, Business Day newspaper reports citing an energy specialist in the department of mineral resources and energy.
The modeling concedes that reaching net zero without carbon offsets is “extremely difficult,” according to energy planning specialist Sonwabo Damba. Challenges include potential operation of coal-fired power stations beyond 2050 and the necessity of gas for cost-effective scenarios, driving emissions.
Net zero means reducing greenhouse gas emissions as close to zero as possible. The controversial carbon offsetting approach involves investing in environmental projects to compensate for emissions.
Discussions are ongoing to define net zero within the electricity plan. South Africa has officially stated its net-zero commitment but lacks detailed emission reduction plans, Business Day said.
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