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Green Economy Summit 18-20 May 2010 Innovation, Technology and the Green Economy INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY AND THE GREEN ECONOMY PRESENTATION STRUCTURE IntroductionDefining the sector: Low Carbon & Environmental Goods and Services; South African profile. Sector dynamics and priorities. Development support and incentives instruments. THE ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND SERVICES SECTOR (EGS) OECD definition for this sector is that, …the environment industry “includes all companies involved in whole, or in part, in the production of environmental goods, the provision of environmental services and the undertaking of environment-related construction activities”. Environmental goods and services are those “that are used, or can potentially be used to, measure, prevent, limit or correct environmental damage (both natural or by human activity) to water, air, soil as well as problems related to waste, noise and ecosystems. Some developed country economies, e.g. Canada, have established satellite accounts for the environment within the national public accounts system. Expanded definition: THE LOW-CARBON AND ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND SERVICES SECTOR (LCEGS) Low carbon goods & services Renewable energy facilities; Energy saving devices; Alternative fuels; Alternative materials. Traditional EGS Waste collection, recycling and conversion Waste Management Greenhouse Gas reduction Water supply and treatment Cleaner production Biodiversity conservation Air quality services Analytical devices Air and road traffic noise Water treatment, testing, recycling. Noise pollution LCEGS Sustainable resource use and management Conservation services and products Remediation products Soil rehabilitation; Eco-system rehabilitation; rehabilitation of mines Cultivation and processing methods in agriculture, forestry and fisheries South African profile Highly industrialised country; Fossil-fuel based, energy intensive economy; Industry and household energy and resource use not efficient; High level of land degradation; Weak track-record on waste management (land-fill pressures whereas more recycling needed); Fisheries under pressure (abalone threatened); Low value-add, particularly in agro-processing. DYNAMICS OF THE SECTOR CSIR and DTI 2000 study and later 2005 FRIDGE study concluded that Environmental Goods and Services industry could generate between one hundred to five hundred thousand jobs. No hard evidence and possibly an over-statement of the opportunities. Initial background research by the HSRC in 2007 on the EGS sector showed the sector to be characterised by two main themes. The first theme was the universal agreement amongst environmentalists, economists, industrialists, academics and politicians that the sector was a strong future growth sector. [OECD reports that global imperatives for resource efficiencies likely to create as many new professions, companies and industries]. Note that the second theme running through all the EGS literature was that this was a sector which was incredibly hard to map, collect data and analyse it. This is critical aspect in terms of target setting. SECTOR DYNAMICS AND THE ECONOMY This sector is often described as highly complex, but it can also be seen as an ‘integrative’ sector that generates deep levels of expertise across almost all sectors of the economy. For example, scientists, engineers, laboratory technicians, data capturers, software developers, chemicals processing companies, power producers, farmers and conservation biologists, investment financing companies and insurers, are all being drawn into professions, businesses and jobs related to the EGS sector. This is a global phenomenon and South Africa has not positioned itself to take advantage of it. National, provincial and local government can and should structure environmental targets and then mobilise business, job creation and skills development opportunities around these targets. The starting point could be the traditional waste management sector and then actions to move to a low-carbon economic transformation. It is about economic transformation, about production and consumption. If government just focused aggressively, at all three tiers, on meeting environmental targets, the base of skilled workers, engineers and new industrial growth would surge way beyond the growth trajectories of pre-recession levels. Government could also use this platform to ensure sustainable access to eco-system services (e.g. water and food). Growing the Economy and the Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) Sector Accounting for the impact of economic activity on the environment and the depletion of natural resources; As early as 1992, the US Bureau for Economic Affairs’ produced a paper arguing for environmental satellite accounts:‘The economy disposes of wastes into the air and water, and the resulting degradation of the environment imposes costs, such as lower timber yields and fish harvests and higher cleaning costs. What are these costs? Which sectors bear them’? Now there is a global shift towards ‘defensive expenditures’ to offset resource degradation and depletion Kyoto Protocol 2005:- monetising the environmental benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This requires extensive emissions measurement. DEFENSIVE EXPENDITURES AND INCENTIVES • Scientists and economists are needed to establish baseline datasets on natural resource stocks, to monitor changes over time in Environmental Satellite Accounts. Many of the developed countries are transforming their economies to perform against ‘net domestic product’ profiles. In simple terms, this involves setting off resource depletion against GDP. • This facilitates measures to impose penalties against bad production or consumption practices and to offer incentives for resource efficiencies or resource gains from technological innovation or changes in consumptive behaviour. • An economic argument can be mounted for ‘future economic benefits’ associated with land use for conservation purposes rather than for agricultural or manufacturing purposes. This is a defensive cost to the public purse. But it serves as a trade-off against resource losses to the economy or ‘cleaning costs’. • Investments in R&D, technology development (e.g. fuel cell technology, solar photovoltaics), and human capital development are key defensive expenditures. DEFENSIVE EXPENDITURES AND INCENTIVES • Some waste management (recycling) and energy efficiency spending by government (e.g. provision of subsidies for solar water geysers) can also be described as defensive expenditure by government. In many cases the cost is shifted to the consumer (levies on water, tyres, electricity). • Government spending on job creation around land and soil rehabilitation is another example. • The experience in South Africa has been limited to clearing of alien vegetation. This could be further extended to ‘re-vegetation’ job creation activities on severely degraded land (returning the land to productive use). • Incentives to industry to encourage shifts to cleaner production methods supports efforts to meet the targets and to meet stringent global technical requirements on environmental, health and safety practices. • A mix of rewards and penalties has been favoured for shifting energy and fuel options to lower carbon emissions. Direction setting – conditioning economic behaviour We need science-based information on baselines, targets and the likelihood of impacts on development objectives (MTSF and new growth path). Environmental targets for the economy Industrial growth Job creation Environmental benefits Emissions reduction targeting Renewable energy; biofuels. Energy Efficiency targets limited Resource-use efficiency targets limited Land rehabilitation targets limited EPWP Conservation targets limited EPWP Waste management targets Direction setting – conditioning economic behaviour We need science-based information on baselines, targets and the likelihood of impacts on development objectives (MTSF and new growth path). Environmental targets for the economy Industrial growth Job creation Environmental benefits Natural resource stock level targets (e.g. fisheries) Value-add targets Noise abatement targets limited limited Air quality targets limited limited Cleaner production targets limited Not all EGS economic activities offer high jobcreation opportunities Technology intensity Disposal of hazardous waste Waste conversion Waste sorting and recycling Waste collection Labour intensity THANK YOU