Download 12Aug2016_Gauteng Climate Change Forum_Background Information for

Background Information for Prioritization of Potential Gauteng Climate
Change Flagship Projects
Introduction
Flagship programmes are programmes designed to play a transitional role in the shift to a more resilient
and lower carbon economy. In terms of National Climate Response Policy, a set of Near-term Priority
Flagship Programmes will be implemented as an integral part of this policy, informed by several
important factors including the urgency of acting on mitigation and adaptation responses. The
implementation should start as soon as possible taking into account the fact that many sectors have
already researched and have experience in implementing policies and measures to address the challenges
of climate change. These programmes include both the scaling-up of existing climate change initiatives
and new initiatives that are ready to come on-stream. Currently, about forty-four (44) projects that are
classified as flagships have been identified. These projects are part of the main Flagship Programmes
which are:
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The Waste Management Flagship Programme;
The Transport Flagship Programme;
The Climate Change Response Public Works Flagship Programme;
The Adaptation Research Flagship Programme;
The Renewable Energy Flagship Programme;
The Carbon Capture and Sequestration Flagship Programme;
The Energy Efficiency and Energy Demand Management Flagship
Programme; and
The Water Conservation and Demand Management Flagship
Programme.
GDARD has embarked on the process of identification of possible climate change flagship projects for the
province. Background information for possible climate change flagships projects for the Gauteng province
has been outlined below.
1. Wonderbags
Three (3) billion women around the world still cook over an open fire each day causing serious
environmental and health impacts. Furthermore human smoke inhalation from these fires and indoor air
pollution is the leading cause of death globally killing over 4 million people and deteriorating the health of
others.
Figure 1: Wonderbag
Figure 2: Using wonderbag
The wonderbag is designed with expanded polystyrene insulation making it an energy efficient and safe
ecosolution to green cooking. This non-electric portable slow cooker continues to cook food which has
been brought to the boil by conventional methods for up to 8 hours without the use of additional energy.
1.1.
Benefits of wonderbags
Figure 3: The socio-environmental
impacts of cooking over an open fire
Figure 4: The socio-environmental benefits
of the wonderbag
It was proven that this is a very cost effective environmental intervention.
The benefits of this product include:
 Works without electricity: Saves money and reduces the emission rate.
 Healthy: Keeps the moisture inside your food and nutrients don't boil away.
 Safe: slow cooking uses less water, food doesn't burn and neither should you or your family.
 Insulates: hot and cold - keeps things cold, so it’s a great companion to keep your groceries
cold and frozen while travelling.
 Suitable for both, low and medium income groups and many recipes have already been
adapted for wonderbag cooking.
 Employment: creates employment in countries where the bags are used in large numbers.
Figure 5: Quantified benefits of the wonderbag
CASE STUDY: Detailed household survey in a Durban, South Africa
The case study was undertaken in a residential area where low-income households have been using
Wonderbag for up to two years. Based on a sample of about 4000 households, three cardinal
economic benefits of this technology identified include:
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Savings of cooking time per household member (8-21%)
Savings of money spent on fuel (10-36%)
Higher food spending per household member (36-60%)
These findings demonstrate that the wonderbag can confer significant economic benefits on lowincome communities.
On average, wonderbag saves 150 kilograms of CO2 a year in South Africa and it can be used as a
carbon offset. Natural Balance, the driving force behind the Wonderbag, has retired its first carbon
credit harvest to Microsoft. The purchase of 20,000 tonnes of Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs) is
part of a global commitment by the organisation to become carbon neutral. GCX Africa assisted
Natural Balance in taking the project through the rigorous validation, verification and issuance process,
and Natural Balance has been awarded the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) for its South African
based activity by the DNV Climate Change Services.
The GDARD Air Quality Awareness Campaign resulted in the distribution of 200 Wonderbags in
Phumasibethane Informal Settlement in Sharpeville on 17 March 2016. Subsequent to the Awareness
Campaign, a social acceptability survey was conducted 17 May 2016 by GDARD officials. The survey
revealed that the Wonderbag has been well received and is being utilized frequently by the
community. However, more training and awareness around the purpose and correct use of the
Wonderbag is necessary in the community. GDARD planned to distribute at least 1500 Wonderbags at
a cost of approximately R 500 000.00, as part of its Climate Change Awareness Campaign for the
2017/18 financial year (dependent on budget availability).
2. Waste to Energy (SALGA + municipalities)
The consumption habits of modern consumer lifesyles are causing a worldwide waste problem.
Having overfilled local landfill capacities, many first world nations are now exporting their refuse to
third world countries. Furthermore the challenges of limited landfill space and high disposal costs
have led to illegal dumping and thus ecological degradation. These challenges have spurred
companies to develop new methods of recycling waste. The conversion of waste to energy is the
process of treating waste using modern combustion and biological technologies to recover energy for
the generation of electricity. There are three (3) pathways that can be used for conversion of waste
to energy - thermochemical, biochemical and physicochemical.
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Thermochemical Conversion – involves the use of combustion technology to recover heat to
produce steam which in turn produces power through steam turbines.
Biochemical Conversion – involves anaerobic digestion, to produce biogas which can be
converted to power and heat using a gas engine.
Figure 6: Anaerobic digestion technology for treatment of organic fraction of MSW
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Physico-chemical Conversion - physico-chemical technology is used to improve physical and
chemical properties of solid waste. The combustible fraction of the waste is converted into
high-energy fuel pellets which may be used in steam generation. Fuel pellets have several
advantages over coal and wood because it is cleaner, free from incombustibles, has lower ash
and moisture contents.
2.1 Waste to energy technology and potential
In responding to the universal quest to curtail dependency on fossil fuels and promote renewable
energies, SALGA and GIZ, a German Cooperation Agency, are supporting municipalities in assessing their
biogas potential from the sludge in their waste water treatment plants in order to generate electricity and
thus reduce their electricity bills.
South Africa has opted to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and promote renewable energies with the
target of 17.8 GW (gigawatt) by 2030. Municipalities have an important role to play in regard to waste to
energy since waste service provision is the responsibility of local government in terms of the Constitution
of the republic.
CASE STUDY: The generation of electricity from waste, in particular through biogas, was selected as a
priority by SALGA/GIZ due to a number of comparative advantages including:
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The ability to provide base-load or peak power to the distribution grids;
High job-creation potential/linkages to sustainable rural development (particularly with
agricultural waste);
The possibility of using existing infrastructure (generation) and services (supply);
The potential to reduce municipal organic waste in an environmentally friendly manner;
The overall positive impact on municipalities’ expenditures (electricity); and
The reduction of greenhouse gases emission from the methane emission naturally occurring in
landfills or in some digesters.
Figure 7: Demonstration of potential for anaerobic digestion of waste
3. Energy Efficiency (GPDID)
A central focus of the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) is on green and
renewable energy in response to the call in the National Development Plan to reduce carbon
emissions. Part of Gauteng’s Integrated Energy Strategy is the large-scale roll out of roof top solar
panels on government buildings across the province. The cost of this ambitious project is projected at
R11.2 billion and it is anticipated that the project will lead to the generation of 300MW of electricity.
The increasing importance of “green energy” and the efforts to reduce the impact on the environment
through the efficient production of electricity, cooling and heating from a single fuel source, has
attracted banks, airports, hospitals and shopping malls, besides others, to the trigeneration project.
The Department plans to ensure that the natural gas infrastructure of Gauteng is optimally utilised
through replacing 77 coal-fired boilers in hospitals in the province with natural gas or diesel fired
boilers. GDID is also exploring the possibility of extracting methane gas from landfill sites for use in
hospital facilities. As part of the “switch to gas to meet hospital energy needs”, planning and
consultation is at an advanced stage for the Trigeneration power plant to be installed at Chris Hani
Baragwanath Hospital. The “Trigen” will convert natural gas to electricity and provide much needed
steam, room heating, cooling and ventilation.
CASE STUDY: MTN’s first trigeneration plant
MTN’s R22-million energy efficient, methane-powered plant, which was officially launched in August
2013 at the company’s Fairland offices, in Johannesburg. Trigeneration is the concurrent production
of electricity, heating and cooling from a single source, in this case from Egoli gas, to provide power to
create hot water, space heating and cooling for air-conditioning. The trigeneration plant is powered
by methane gas, which is piped over 800 km from Sasol's Mozambique gas fields to Egoli Gas in
Johannesburg, and then to the company's office, MTN South Africa MD Karel Pienaar explained
Benefits of MTN trigeneration plant:
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Generated electricity from the methane gas, but also used a by-product of the process for
cooling purposes. This meant that efficiencies of 85% were achieved.
Electricity price increases meant that MTN expected to get a return on investment within five
years for the trigeneration plant.
Alternative energy supply ensures energy security
Contributed less to the emission of greenhouse gases
Saved money because the power generated from the trigeneration plant was about half the
price of power supplied by City Power.
4. Up-scaling EPWP and Ecologically based Adaptation
Ecosystem-based adaptation has generally been defined as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services
as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.
Ecosystem-based management practices that focus on conservation, restoration and sustainable
management of biodiversity and ecosystem services could potentially help farmers adapt both to climate
change in the long term (i.e., by ensuring the continued provision of on and off-site ecosystem services)
as well as to climate variability in the short term (i.e., by improving the resilience of production units to
the increasing impacts of extreme weather events). Under this definition ecosystem-based agricultural
practices must be based on the conservation, restoration or management of biodiversity.
Table 1: Summary of three key dimensions and underlying criteria that agricultural practices need to
satisfy to be considered Ecosystem-based Adaptation practices that are appropriate for smallholder
farmers.
Dimension 1: ecosystembasedness
Is based on the conservation,
restoration and sustainable
management of biodiversity
(e.g., genetic, species and
ecosystem diversity
Is based on the conservation,
restoration and sustainable
management of ecological
functions and processes (such
as nutrient cycling, soil
formation, water infiltration,
carbon sequestration, etc.)
Dimension 2: adaptation
benefits
Maintains or improves crop,
animal or farm productivity in
face of climate variability and
climate change
Dimension 3: livelihood
security
Increases food security of
smallholder households
Reduces the biophysical
impacts of extreme weather
events (heavy rainfall,
extremely high temperatures,
strong winds, etc.) and high
temperatures on crops,
animals or farming system
Reduces crop pest and disease
hazards due to climate change
Increases or diversifies income
generation of smallholder
households
Takes advantage of local or
traditional knowledge of
smallholder farmers
Uses local, available and
renewable inputs (e.g., using
local materials from within the
farm or landscape, rather than
external inputs such as
pesticides, inorganic fertilizers,
etc.)
Requires implementation costs
and labor affordable to
smallholder farmers
Many of the practices that can be considered EbA (e.g., agroforestry practices, soil and water
conservation practices, etc.) are already well known and have been proven to help smallholder farmers
adapt to climate change, but current financial, political and technical constraints limit a more widespread
adoption of these practices among smallholder farmers. For those challenges to be overcome, it is critical
that policy makers at all levels (local, national and international) recognize and promote the use of EbA
approaches in agricultural development, climate change and environmental strategies, and support their
widespread adoption.
Key strategies for promoting EbA include:
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(ii)
(iii)
improving our understanding on the effectiveness of different EbA practices and of what
factors drive their adoption,
developing supportive and integrated agriculture and climate change policies that
specifically promote EbA options as part of a broader adaptation program; and
establishing and maintaining strong and innovative extension programs for smallholder
farmers.
GDARD has envisaged undertaking the EBA project for the 2017/2018 financial year. EBA project
envisaged involves the use of spekboom plant to minimize the spread of fires in fire prone biomes such as
Magaliesberg. This project will support climate change mitigation through increased carbon capture in the
Spekboom biomass and reduced emissions from fires. Further, this project will reduce losses suffered by
farmers and land owners as a result of fires and Spekboom will be used as livestock feed during droughts.
5.
Manufacturing and distribution of subsidized rainwater harvesting (RWH) tanks
The South African Region is already a water scarce area, experiencing environmental and other threats to
its limited water resources such as rapidly increasing demand for water from a growing population and
economic sectors. Due to its nature, this resource is constantly under threat from human activities and
the environment, notably industrial activities and global climate change. Additionally, research conducted
in 2010 on a rights based perspective to access to urban services in South Africa, revealed that 10.7% of
the total South African population did not have access to potable water (Tissington, 2012; Stats SA GHS
2010). The issue of availability of water therefore becomes an essential component in ensuring adequate
living standards for all citizens.
Climate change is having a profound influence on human life: displacement of populations, cultural
separation, abandonment of settlements which all mostly occurs as a result of people’s need for water for
food production and survival. In reality, climate patterns and water supply influence decisions on access
to new water supply sources, plans for infrastructural expansion projects, as well as economic plans on
agriculture, industry, tourism and major sporting activities (WMO, 2012). It is highlighted that climate
change can interact with socio-cultural activities without disturbance and that a simple practice such as
rain water harvesting augments human resilience to bear sudden extreme climate changes and can help
prevent migration of people due to droughts (Deep, et. al., 2003).
5.1 Water Scarcity in Gauteng Province, South Africa
The Province lies in the water stressed area, which puts it in a difficult position in terms of management
of water resources for supply to its large population.
Figure 8: Map of the Southern Africa region showing the rainfall pattern with Gauteng marked in
red. Source: Tourism Maps, 2011.
Projections indicate that the Mean Annual Temperature in Gauteng Region is projected to be 2 to 3°C by
2050s and 3 to 6°C by 2090s. Rate of change of Gauteng temperature per decade is expected to be 0.25
to 0.5°C by 2050s and 0.5 to 1°C by 2090s. The Region is expected to have 0 to 40% increase in rainfall by
2050s and 20% to more than 60% increase in some parts by the 2090s. However, evaporation from dams
and soil in Gauteng is expected to increase by 5% to 10% in the 2050s and by 15% to 25% in the 2090s
(Gauteng Climate Change Response Strategy, 2011).
5.2 Rainwater Harvesting
RWH basically involves the collection, storage and continuous use of captured rainwater as either the
main or alternative source of water. Rainwater Harvesting feasible for use in Low-income households in
South Africa and has potential to supplement available water sources for the low income housing group in
South Africa, particularly in the Gauteng Province. This has become vital since formal piped water systems
have become increasingly unreliable, making the economic and social lives of the poor more difficult.
Figure 9: Schematic of a typical rainwater catchment system
Benefits of RWH:
 Enables communities to have control over their lives and environment;
 There is income, food for families, and people are more responsible towards their living
environment.
CASE STUDY: Rainwater Harvesting In South Africa –
These projects are an example of a programme aimed at promoting sustainable water
management and also to improve the livelihoods of rural communities:
 The Bothlabela village, developed by Community Residential Unit (CRU) programme offers
decent and affordable housing which is a key necessity in the Alexandria, Johannesburg. The
housing development comprises 520 units fitted with RWH systems (SHF, 2010).
 The Cato Manor project was undertaken as part of the GBCSA and the World Green Council’s
participation in the UN COP17 climate change summit (Naidoo, 2011). It sought to improve the
lives of poor communities and at the same time reduce the impact of their livelihood activities
on the environment. Green retrofits were installed in 27 low cost houses and RWH, water
storage tanks were installed to provide water in times of droughts for irrigation and for
domestic activities such as laundry (Botes, 2012; Urban Earth, 2012; Naidoo, 2011). As a job
creation initiative, residents received training on how to install RWH retrofits into homes.
Given these above, promoting roof top RWH technology becomes an important climate change
adaptation practice in the province. GDARD has therefore planned a Rainwater Harvesting Project which
is divided into three phases:
Phase 1 (2017-18) – Collect data and analyse existing rainwater systems in the province in terms of
effectiveness of water collection, water use and simplistic Cost-Benefit Analysis.
Phase 2 (2018/19) - Select location and RWH types for 400 different intervention projects (tanks and
more complex RWHs) based on results of Phase 1 and inputs from Steering
Committee
- Identify and capacitate the NGOs/CBOs to train communities in installation of tanks
and RWHs
- Procure and oversee installation of tanks and RWHs
- Set up reporting system to monitor RWH effectiveness
Phase 3 (2019/20) - Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of Phase 2 projects.
- Promote and support manufacturing of the low cost tanks and RWHs in Gauteng
- Awareness building on benefits of rainwater harvesting
- Annual reporting and analysis of impacts of the existing and newly build systems
6.
Manufacturing and distribution of subsidized bicycles (schools)
Traffic congestion and gridlock had accompanied rapid economic growth and the development of the
motor manufacturing industry. Road infrastructure has come under immense pressure due to
competition for road space from industrial, public and private road users. Access to economic
opportunities is adversely affected by traffic congestion, as business activities move from inner cities to
the outskirts, further increasing the cost of fuel and transportation for all South Africans.
The interest for a sustainable transport is growing in the public and private sector, at local, national and
global level. Our cities and our planet cannot rely on cars for our transport needs, even if they become
more energy-efficient or even carbon neutral. With current planning and design, roads are isolating
people from important destinations. The public domain should be designed with priority for people over
motorised traffic. Apart from emission reduction, mobility with zero emission should get value.
Figure 10: Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) systems are a form of sustainable and flexible public
transport service that involves the creation of a dense network of cycle rental stations.
Conclusion
These potential flagship projects present great opportunity for effective climate change response. As
indicated above, GDARD has initiated preparation of the put plans for the implementation of three
projects namely: Distribution of Wonderbags; Ecological Based Adaptation; and Promotion of Rainwater
Harvesting Tanks. Further work regarding these projects will be presented at various fora, including the
Gauteng Climate Change Forum. It is recommended that other GPG Departments and Local Municipalities
consider other projects that have been outlined in this document for effective climate change response
within the Province.
References
Department of Environmental Affairs (2011), National Climate Change Response Policy.
Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (2011), Gauteng Climate Change Response
Strategy and Action Plan.
Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (2016), Phumasibethane Survey Report on
the use of Methanol Stoves and Wonderbgas.
GCX Africa (2013), Microsoft Buys SA’s Wonderbag Carbon Credits, http://www.gcxafrica.co.za/microsoftbuys-sas-wonderbag-carbon-credits/
Treehugger, (2016). The Wonderbag is an electricity-free slow cooker that can slow deforestation, reduce
violence and make a hearty stew! [online] Available at: http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-productdesign/wonderbag-electricity-free-slow-cooker.html
EcoMENA, (2015). Waste-to-Energy Pathways. [online] Available at:
http://www.ecomena.org/tag/physico-chemical/
Gauteng Province Infrastructure Development, (2014). GDID Blazing the trail in green infrastructure.
[online] Available at: http://www.did.gpg.gov.za/Pages/GDID-Blazing-the-trail-in-green-infrastructure.aspx
Egoli gas, (2013). New Generation Power Source Clients. [online] Available at: http://egsite.co.za/newgeneration-power-source.html
Enninful, J.P. (2013). Rainwater Harvesting: A Sustainable Practice for Low- Income Housing in South
Africa.
Arrive Alive, (2016). Public Transport and Road Safety in South Africa. [online] Available at:
https://arrivealive.co.za/Public-Transport
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