UCT Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 - Report - Page 23
Education for sustainable energy
ESRG work in policy
The Power Futures Lab also offered three short courses in
2022 focusing on the energy sector in Africa. Delegates
were working professionals from national ministries,
utilities, regulators and development partners.
The work of the ESRG was cited in the following
policy documents published in 2022:
Each course has between 70 and 100
delegates from 20+ African countries.
Energy Systems Research
Group
The Energy Systems Research Group (ESRG) at UCT
combines modelling of energy and economic systems
with policy analysis and field-based research to generate
and enhance knowledge of energy systems at sectoral,
regional, national and sub-continental scales. Their work
has had significant policy impact supporting South Africa
and the region towards a net-zero future.
Pathway to a net-zero campus
Meeting the IPCC targets of halving greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030 for a net-zero goal by 2050 will be
an immense challenge for UCT, given the low base
rate from which the university starts and the financial
challenges faced as a learning institution in the Global
South. As a first step in this direction, the ESRG, as part
of the Khusela Ikamva (securing our future) campus-wide
sustainability project, developed a cost-optimal pathway
for UCT to achieve the net-zero goal.
The work, undertaken in 2021 and 2022, resulted in
the development of an energy systems model which
represents the entirety of the university’s energy
use. The model allows UCT to predict its future CO2
according to different scenarios. This allows the
institution to effectively plan for a carbon-neutral future.
Exploring net-zero pathways for
South Africa
While South Africa has made the aspirational
commitment of moving towards the goal of net-zero
carbon emissions by 2050, the country has not yet
taken steps to make this a reality. The ESRG undertook
a study exploring net zero pathways for South Africa,
as part of a larger body of technical work, to support
the South African government in its achievement of this
commitment.
This study, published in 2022, provides an initial
exploratory modelling analysis of what a net-zero
economy in South Africa could look like in 2050, and
what potential pathways there may be towards such an
economy.
South Africa’s Just Energy
Transition Investment Plan
Released by the Presidency
of South Africa, the plan sets
out the scale of need and
the investments required to
support the decarbonisation
commitments made by the
government of South Africa
Greenhouse gas mitigation
scenarios for major
emitting countries
A policy document by PBL
Netherlands Environmental
Assessment Agency
Scaling Up Sustainable
Finance and Investment in
the Global South
A policy brief by the
Centre for Economic Policy
Research
South Africa
Country Climate and
Development Report
A policy document by the
World Bank
Emissions Gap Report 2022:
The Closing Window –
Climate Crisis Calls for Rapid
Transformation of Societies
A report by the United Nations
Environment Programme
Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 – 23
