Sasol Climate Change Report 2022 - Book - Page 51
INTRODUCTION
RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
OUR FUTURE SASOL STRATEGY
GOVERNANCE
CLIMATE ADVOCACY AND POLICY (CONTINUED)
Advocacy (continued)
The Energy Council of South Africa has
established multiple workstreams which
includes gas, electricity, hydrogen, storage,
just transition, funding and sustainable and liquid
fuels. At this stage, not all associated climaterelated positions have been formulated, approved by
their Board and communicated externally.
Nonetheless, we undertook a review to check initial
alignment with our relevant climate advocacy
principles. The Council is also taking a collaborative
approach with other industry associations to
advocate for policy conducive to a low-carbon
economy; this advocacy approach is still being
shaped.
SASOL’S PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONSIBLE CLIMATE-RELATED ADVOCACY
Acknowledgement
and support for
climate science
The IPCC provides a view of how global warming is likely to affect us,
if unmitigated. The scientific evidence for warming of the global climate
system is unequivocal, particularly in light of the 2021 IPCC science
findings. Sasol acknowledges the scientific basis relating to anthropogenic
climate change. We recognise the role of industry and our responsibility
in playing a part in holding global average temperature increase below
targeted levels.
Support for the
Paris Agreement
goal
The Paris Agreement articulates the need for society to act with greater
urgency to limit global warming to well below 2oC above pre-industrial levels
and to pursue further efforts to limit this increase to 1,5oC. Sasol recognises
that much more than current global effort is required to support the aims of
the Paris Agreement. We are therefore pursuing transformational changes
to our business, cognisant of the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities as it relates to developing countries.
Support for carbon
pricing that
provides greater
incentives for
innovation and
low-carbon choices
Carbon pricing provides an incentive to accelerate the low-carbon transition
through emission trading schemes, budgets or taxes. Setting a price on
carbon requires an integrated, well-designed, nationally determined and
holistic policy response to the challenge of climate change. Sasol supports
carbon pricing to enable a transition to a low-carbon economy. In our view,
appropriately designed fiscal instruments and supporting mitigation action
is critical, including the use of market mechanisms, such as carbon offsets
and NbS/TbS CDRs. To ensure the viability of our projects and long-term
strategy, we developed and implemented internal South African carbon
prices to assist us in evaluating business decisions.
Development of
low- and lowercarbon energy
solutions in the
form of renewable
energy, green
hydrogen, natural
gas (as a transition
feedstock and
fuel) and energy
efficiency
Through ambitious energy targets, the global industry is driving innovation,
increasing competitiveness and reducing GHG emissions. Significant
emission reductions can be achieved through energy efficiency. Renewable
energy is a critical enabler for a low-carbon future and deployment at scale
must take place urgently. Sasol has been a proponent of energy efficiency
since as early as 2005 and committed to the EP100 initiative. Our 2030
roadmap is focused on renewable energy to reduce our emissions. Natural
gas is a key enabler for an effective and efficient energy transition in
developing economies. Even though it is a fossil fuel, it is a bridge for
coal-based economies and can be more easily integrated with renewable
energy. Sasol views transition gas and renewable energy as a springboard
into green hydrogen to fully decarbonise our operations.
Transparency and
disclosure
Increased transparency is critically important to enable informed decisionmaking and instils confidence with our stakeholders that Group top risks,
including climate change, are being addressed. We support and advocate for
disclosure aligned with best practice standards, such as the TCFD, GRI, UN
SDGs and their reporting criteria.
Other memberships
To complement our participation in formalised
industry associations, we continue to subscribe
to and are members of voluntary benchmarking
platforms to enhance our insights, governance
expectations and reporting and disclosure of climaterelated information. These bodies are not
categorised as industry associations and therefore
are not part of the self-assessment review.
Nonetheless, these associations play a critical role in
enriching our climate change management approach,
including achieving our targets and net zero ambition.
These memberships extend to bodies, such as the
CDP and Energy Productivity 100 (EP100) that seek
to aggregate and provide useful mechanisms for
sharing and disclosing climate-relevant information.
Sasol has joined EP100 as a means to demonstrate
our commitment to improving energy productivity
to reduce GHG emissions.
Sasol’s participation in these bodies is not driven
by a policy advocacy need but rather to enhance our
disclosure and offer an independent measure of
assurance, which can be relied upon by our
stakeholders. We also actively leverage national and
international industry associations, such as National
Business Initiative (NBI), who recently conducted an
independent study and assessment of plausible net
zero pathways for South Africa. The application of
independently validated outcomes enables us to
focus on key technical and policy levers that could
unlock and accelerate our transition to a low-carbon
economy dominated by green hydrogen and
renewables.
SASOL CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT 2022 50
DATA AND ASSURANCE
