http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/article558450.ece/SA-bad-on-the-environment
SA bad on the environment
Jul 19, 2010 2:43 PM | By Sapa
South Africa scores relatively poorly on environmental conditions, the
Organisation for Co-Operation and Development (OECD) said on Monday as
it released its first economic survey of the country.
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"South Africa tends to score relatively poorly on broad indices of
environmental conditions, especially in the area of greenhouse gas
emissions."
This was due to its industrial structure and its heavy reliance on
coal for electricity generation.
"The need for progress on tackling climate change has been recognised
by the government, but little concrete action has yet been taken to
put a price on carbon or stimulate renewables."
Favourable energy prices for some large industrial users, electricity
prices that did not cover capital costs for the development of new
capacity, and low coal purchase prices for the dominant electricity
generator had all tended to hinder economic efficiency and aggravate
carbon emissions.
"The urgency of the global problem, South Africa's status as a
relatively large emitter, and the slow progress to date all suggest
that efforts to mitigate emissions should be accelerated."
The OECD said one important element would be to move to electricity
prices that fully covered long-run costs, with no subsidies for
industrial customers.
"Other measures could include a carbon tax, greater use of other green
taxes, and faster development of renewable energy projects and carbon
capture and storage," it said.
The OECD is an international organisation which says it helps
governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a
global economy.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201007200571.html
Business Day (Johannesburg)
South Africa: 'Late Starter' Urged to Use Green Tax More
Jocelyn Newmarch
20 July 2010
Johannesburg � SA should introduce a carbon tax, and enforce other
environmental taxes, according to this year's Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey released yesterday.
SA, despite its status as a developing country, has relatively high
emissions, both in absolute terms and per capita.
The International Energy Agency ranked SA as the 18th largest emitter
of CO2 from fuel consumption, ahead of countries such as Spain and the
Netherlands.
Despite high poverty levels, SA's emissions per capita were at least
11 tons per person.
Government had made a conditional commitment to reduce its greenhouse
gas emissions by 34% by 2020, and 42% by 2025.
But despite this commitment, and a review of renewable energy policy,
the OECD report said SA was a late starter when it came to energy
efficiency and reducing emissions.
SA made little use of green taxes generally and there had been no
concrete action towards pricing carbon emissions.
According to the OECD, SA had room to tax fuel and this would be
recommended rather than the new carbon tax on motor vehicles to be
introduced in September.
Fuel taxes would tax vehicle owners according to the distance driven
rather than the efficiency of the vehicle.
The local price of petrol, including tax, is among the lowest in the
world, at about 0,80c/l in the fourth quarter of last year.
Among OECD countries, only the US, Mexico and Canada had lower petrol
prices.
Fiscal consolidation offered another rationale in favour of green
taxes, the report said.
In general, green taxes should not be considered revenue-raising
measures but could be easier to implement when there was a budgetary
need for more revenue, as was the case in SA.
Green taxes could also help SA steer away from energy-intensive
growth, thus easing capacity constraints in the electricity sector.
Action to mitigate climate change would also benefit air quality, as
SA was heavily reliant on coal, which produced a number of pollutants
when burnt.
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