Aligning South African energy and climate change mitigation policy

The alignment of energy policy in South Africa is considered in the context of the country's emerging climate mitigation vision. The term ‘policy’ is first defined as having a number of levels and components. It is then argued that at the level of written and stated energy policy, the intention exists to move towards a more diverse, efficient and less carbonintensive energy sector. A number of policy instruments are being developed that go some way towards achieving these emission reductions. However, at a policy paradigm level, the energy paradigm and institutional orientation and capacity are fundamentally misaligned with the mitigation vision. In particular, vested interests constrain policy coordination and hence alignment. How could greater alignment be secured? First, government must ensure sufficient capacity, leadership and influence within its energy institutions as a prerequisite. This would prioritize and enable appropriately oriented sector institutional capacity, either by creating new institutions, or by mandating existing institutions to deliver on low-carbon initiatives. It is suggested that, while new capacity may be optimal, it would be unrealistic to attain this level of sector transformation within urgent time frames, given the strongly entrenched energy sector interests in maintaining the status quo.

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