Green energy transition must be socially conscious, says coal miner
One of South Africa’s largest coal miners, Exxaro Resources, warns that while transitioning to greener and cleaner sources of energy is critical, it must happen in a way that takes South Africa’s social and economic challenges into account.
As climate crisis activism takes hold across the globe, the industry has faced strident anti-coal lobbying, said chief executive officer Mxolisi Mgojo.
Although transitioning to a low-carbon economy was imperative, it would not happen overnight and it had to be a “just transition”, he added.
“With the economy growing at less than 1% and an alarmingly high unemployment rate that is close to 30%, with youth unemployment exceeding 50% and high levels of poverty, we must be considerate and informed about saying coal won’t be relevant in South Africa’s future.”
Mgojo was speaking at the official launch of the company’s new green headquarters in Centurion on Monday, where he was joined by Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi.
Exxaro is the largest coal supplier to Eskom.
On Friday, government published the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), the blueprint of SA’s energy mix for the next decade, which will see divestment away from coal energy towards renewables, particularly wind and solar.
By 2050, the government envisions Eskom’s electricity generation from coal will be largely decommissioned.
The IRP states that the socioeconomic impact of decommissioning these Eskom plants has not been quantified or included in the document.
The industry employs more than 80 000 people and accounts for close to 20% of the jobs in the mining industry, according to numbers from Minerals Council SA.
Mgojo said that as coal production declined, jobs, regional development, political- and environmental impact would all require attention and assessment and that the process needed to be viewed as a “shared challenge for all”.
“If you look at many other countries that have taken this transition, it is indeed critical that we ensure that unions and communities are not neglected in this transition.”
This will involve ensuring technical skills development, strategies that encourage labour redeployment, upskilling and retraining to ensure that workers are able to transfer between sectors.
In his keynote address, Nxesi described the unveiling as “auspicious”, particularly in light of the economic challenges which SA is currently facing.
The minister outlined the department’s new employer mandate, stressing that there would be a greater focus on job creation and job preservation.
Nxesi also encouraged businesses to engage with the state on how it could reduce red tape and bureaucracy to reduce the costs of doing business in the country.