Opportunity magazine is a niche business-to-business publication that explores various investment opportunities within Southern Africa’s economic sectors. The publication is endorsed by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
GREEN RESEARCH Creating
GREEN RESEARCH Creating local green jobs in South Africa C40 has summarised the key findings of its research project, “Creating local green jobs in South Africa”. This research provides evidence about the jobs that could be created by the delivery of climate action plans compatible with the ambition of the Paris Agreement. It builds on the goals and principles of the C40 Mayors Agenda for a Green and Just Recovery, and research into the global emissions reduction, air quality and job creation benefits of a green and just recovery presented in The Case for a Green and Just Recovery. The report focussed on the United States, Italy and South Africa. For South Africa, it finds that: • Ambitious urban climate action taken by 2030 could create and support over 1.1-million sustainable jobs in South Africa from mitigation interventions, with around 670 000 of these jobs happening locally within urban centres. Investing in adaptation and naturebased solutions could create and support an additional 700 000 sustainable jobs across South Africa. • The biggest job opportunity in the three countries analysed is upgrading homes, schools and workplaces to make them more energy-efficient, and to build efficient new buildings. This has the potential to create over 900 000 jobs in South Africa. • In South Africa, climate action in urban centres could reduce annual national GHG emissions by 27% in 2030, which will surpass South Africa’s 2030 National Determined Contribution target, helping to raise the country’s ambition in line with the Paris Agreement. • Workforce development and just transition policies must be implemented to guarantee that new jobs are inclusive and accessible to those who need them the most. In particular, there is a need and an opportunity to boost access to green jobs for women, young people and previously disadvantaged individuals, people of colour and workers under 30 and over 50. The creation of climate jobs will have a ripple effect across people’s lives, from ensuring comfortable homes to cleaning up the air and making cities more resilient to future extreme weather. Cites need direct access to investment, from both public and private sources. In South Africa, the capital investment needed to deliver 1.5-compatible mitigation projects across urban centres is estimated to be R570-billion per year for the next five years. A delay in funding the inevitable action to tackle the climate crisis would only see these investment needs increase. A similarly significant investment would be required under a carbon-intensive recovery but would not produce the same benefits to people’s lives. This is why it is critical to direct these investments towards climate actions instead of business-as-usual projects. Time is of the essence. If the climate actions outlined in the research are delayed by just five years, both the emissions reduction and the job-creation potential by 2030 are reduced by a third. What do the public think? In a C40-commissioned poll linked to this research, more than three-quarters of respondents across the three countries supported using national funding or an Infrastructure Bill to invest in climate action in cities. This support increased if the investment creates jobs where they live, and showed that people would be more willing to support their mayor if the city was doing more on green jobs. A unit at the University of Pretoria working on transdisciplinary skills transfer programmes, Future Africa, is partnering with Nepoworx, a skills development and training institution accredited by the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association, to train 900 people over three years in green-economy skills.
GREEN RESEARCH JOHANNESBURG DEEP-DIVE The report made some specific findings about Johannesburg. Climate action can help simultaneously kickstart the economic recovery from Covid-19, reduce carbon emissions and make Johannesburg a more resilient city. Over 340 000 jobs could be created from mitigation actions over the next 10 years through investments in Johannesburg’s climate action projects in the sectors of buildings, transport, energy and waste. Through building new energy-efficient buildings, the city could create and support over 140 000 jobs. Investing in rail in a shift to sustainable mass transit could also support over 75 000 jobs over the next 10 years. Johannesburg could create and support an additional 75 000 jobs from actions in adaptation and nature-based solutions. About 43% of all these jobs will happen locally in the city and the rest will be created and supported across the country. The potential access to these jobs varies. As a whole, these interventions seem to support a higher proportion of female employment (28%) than the current aggregate workforce distribution, meaning that new jobs created through the transition could improve gender equity. It also seems that the transition will support higher-quality jobs. If green investments are accompanied by inclusivity policies, Johannesburg has the opportunity to address existing inequalities in the workforce distribution, while creating good quality and sustainable local jobs. Managing Director Sipho Makhasana receives the Job Creator Award from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Mmamoloko Kubayi, at the Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference. Khabokedi Waste Management is committed to solutions that promote the green economy and sustainable development. We prioritise the empowerment of our employees with the knowledge and background skills to deliver quality waste management solutions. Services • S Landfill E R V I site C E operations S and management • Transportation management Landfill Site Operations and operations • Landfill & Management site rehabilitation • On-site Transportation waste management Management • Landfill & Operations site construction • Training Landfill Site Rehabilitation • Consulting • Environmental On-site Waste Management projects • Implementation Landfill Site Construction • Facilities Training cleaning • Chipping Consulting Environmental Project Contact details Address: 3 Chloor Street, Alrode, Alberton 1451 Tel: +27 Implementation 11 867 0701 /1959 / 7775 | Cell: 079 509 8929 Fax: 086 518 7844 | Email: siphom@khabokedi.co.za Website: www.khabokedi.co.za Facilities Cleaning Chipping
