Cleaner energy cooler climate: developing sustainable energy solutions for South Africa

Abstract

Energy and climate change are issues of critical importance for shaping a sustainable future, both in South Africa and globally. For South Africa, finding a policy approach which balances the increasing demand for energy with the need for sustainability, equity and climate change mitigation is a particular challenge. This book provides an innovative and strategic approach to climate policy, with local development objectives as its starting point.

Through energy modelling, indicators of sustainable development and policy analysis, Harald Winkler builds a rich and detailed case study illustrating how a development-focused approach to energy and climate policy might work in South Africa. Moreover, with recent record-setting global crude oil prices, this book points out that making energy supply and use more sustainable is a central challenge in South Africa's future development path.

An energy researcher, IPCC author (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and a member of the South African delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Winkler offers a nuanced examination of where the synergies and trade-offs lie, and makes clear the imperative of considering long-term implications when meeting short-term needs.