THE RECENT failures and blackouts from Eskom have plunged us all into darkness, exposing once again that a coal-fuelled, centralised energy economy does not provide cheap, reliable energy for everyone in South Africa.
In a middle-income country where the richest two people own the same wealth as the bottom half of the population, far too many people in South Africa are forced to chose between using scarce household incomes for food or electricity. We all know what’s been happening to electricity prices in the last few years – average prices have cumulatively gone up more than 200 percent in the last five years which has a knock-on effect including on food. The richest 10 percent of the population spend about 10 percent of their income on food, but the poorest 25 percent spend nearly half their income on food, with an additional 19 percent for electricity, transport and housing. So when prices go up, it’s not the rich that suffer the most, it’s the poor.
Meanwhile the latest science from the IPCC (scientists from around the world that advise governments on the status of climate change) confirmed earlier this week that the impact of climate change on food security is worse than previously thought and that climate change is not a future problem, it’s happening here and now. Small scale farmers are finding it particularly hard – when crops fail, they go hungry. When crops fail more widely food prices go up for everyone, once again hurting the poorest parts of society more.
In order to stop climate change the world needs to stop burning fossil fuels, particularly coal, that release CO2 into the atmosphere and causes global warming. This is a situation that rich countries have created and their continued failure to cut emissions enough means that we are on a pathway to seeing massive global failures in the climate that will lead to lower crop yields and higher levels of hunger. Now the pressure is on for all countries to take some action to reduce emissions, including South Africa which is in the top 20 highest emitters in the world. The challenge: how do we provide affordable, reliable energy for all without burning more coal?
Responsibility for emissions isn’t shared equally across all parts of society: it is industry and the households of the wealthiest that are responsible for most of them. An extractive, mineral-based model of economic growth remains at the heart of the economy today, which requires huge amounts of energy, some of which is supplied at cheaper prices than to poor households. Richer households live lifestyles that also require the use of large amounts of energy powering 4x4s and air-conditioning. Yet poor households either don’t have access to energy and when they do have an electricity line to the house, struggle to pay for it, often having to make choices between food and fuel. But after all, you can’t eat electricity.
There are policies in place that talk about a low carbon transition, but vested interests in the carbon-based, energy intensive economy are holding us back. Those arguing for a low carbon agenda are up against formidable opposition in a debate that goes to the heart of the country’s development model. Aside from Eskom being state owned, Chancellor House describes coal mining as a “core investment” and it holds other related investments such as in Hitachi which infamously won contracts to supply Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations. For many, the coal industry is still seen as one of the best ways to BEE. Some even bring religion into the: “It is very clear that we are a coal-based economy and we have to optimally use what God has blessed with” (this from Dipou Peters, former energy minister).
Are we not also “blessed” with sun and wind that do not pollute and endanger lives, but could produce new jobs and cheap energy for all in the near future? Climate change exacerbates hunger, poverty and inequality so broad-based movements challenge the vested interests that promote dirty, expensive energy and favour clean, locally generated renewable energy for all. In South Africa, as with many middle-income countries, to achieve the scale of mobilisation needed, the fight for a low carbon future must be embedded in struggles against rights and equality.
The government have this week organised a four-day dialogue in Midrand to “strengthen the vision and common purpose towards a systematic transformation” towards a lower carbon economy. But we’re never going to have a common vision nor implementation if we don’t have a new narrative that includes addressing hunger, poverty and inequality.
To do this all parts of society, particularly poor communities who are most vulnerable to climate impact, need to be involved in the vision and its implementation.
Rashmi Mistry is Economic Justice Campaign manager for Oxfam in South Africa.