Abstract
The mining sector has, throughout history, played a crucial role in development. Its product improves the living conditions of the human population. Equally so, the mining sector has a reputation for being environmentally destructive. In the modern-day, mining is an energy-intensive operation. Considering that most global energy demand is satisfied through greenhouse gases (GHG) emission-intensive fossil fuels, this sector contributes immensely to anthropogenic climate change. Mining is a critical socio-economic enabler in South Africa (SA), contributing significantly to gross domestic product (GDP), job creation, and community development. The majority of the energy in SA is generated from fossil fuels. Therefore as this sector is energy-intensive, it contributes significantly to the country's GHG emission. As a signatory of United Nations (UN) climate change accords such as the Paris Agreement (PA), SA has pledged to limit its GHG emission footprint to 398-510 MtCO2eq by 2025 and to 350-420 MtCO2eq by 2030. From 2011 SA introduced a National Climate Change Respond Paper (NCCRP) outlining its plans to mitigate and adapt against climate change; every sector of its economy is expected to adopt this policy document and reduce its GHG emissions. By 2017 industrial sector accounted for 14% of SA’s GHG emissions of which the mining sector accounts for 6% of GHG emissions total emissions in the SA industrial sector. This research thesis assesses the response progress of the mining sector in SA to the NCCRP over the last ten years (2011-2020), focusing on electricity generation from clean energy technologies. Additionally, the research thesis analysed the extent of clean energy technologies within the SA mining sector. Finally, the challenges arising within the SA mining sector that may undermine climate change mitigation are analysed. To answer the research questions of this thesis, thematic analysis is done on five major mining company reports related to climate change reporting. These reports include Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), sustainability reports, and websites. The companies are Anglo American, Exarro, Gold Fields, and Impala Platinum. The research thesis observed that the mining sector in SA climate change mitigation efforts had yielded a modest reduction in GHG emission and energy consumption over the last ten years. The sector has over the years employed climate change strategies such as energy-efficient programs, energy usage, and GHG emission management, mining minerals for a low-carbon society, and carbon offsetting. The mining sector in SA is yet to have adequate operations operated by clean energy technologies, which is attributed to policy hindrance within the energy sector. With this, the study concludes that the latter challenge will further undermine the country’s climate change mitigation goal. Keywords: Climate Change, Energy, Mining, and Policy.
M.Phil. (Energy Studies)