South Africa Must Use Coal, Nuclear & Gas for Industrialization: BRICS Business Council Member
South Africa Must Use Coal, Nuclear & Gas for Industrialization: BRICS Business Council Member
South Africa's economy relies heavily on coal, Elias Monage, who is also the president of the Black Business Council, told Sputnik Africa, rejecting the immediate closure of coal power stations.
A "just transition" must move at a pace that allows for proper reindustrialization using available resources, not merely transitioning from one hardship to another, Monage asserted. He highlighted the irony that countries like Germany, which advocate for a faster transition, are simultaneously seeking to import South African coal.
Monage called for convergence and alignment across the continent to maintain energy efficiency and enable re-industrialization, especially under the African Continental Free Trade Area, by leveraging mineral resources for continental growth.
Regarding a future collaborative African nuclear alliance, Monage suggested three approaches:
🟠incorporating an energy workstream within the African Continental Free Trade Area;
🟠utilizing the BRICS energy and infrastructure workstream;
🟠having South Africa lead a meeting of regional energy ministers to efficiently address infrastructure and cost structures.
Finally, Monage noted that the Russia-South Africa Business Council offers a channel to leverage Russia's expertise to partner with South African companies and rebuild the country's nuclear capacity, urging swift action on trade issues through the existing intergovernmental committee.
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