South Africa should respond to growing geopolitical uncertainty by accelerating electricity reform, strengthening industrial policy and mobilising investment into energy infrastructure, speakers said during a joint webinar hosted by the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the President's Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) on July 29.
The webinar unpacked a draft advisory note prepared jointly by the three Presidential advisory bodies, which collectively argue that energy security, industrial development, economic competitiveness and the just transition should be pursued as complementary rather than competing objectives.
Opening the webinar, PEAC coordinating chairperson Dr Renosi Mokate said the advisory had been developed against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile global environment characterised by conflict, trade tensions, changing investment patterns and heightened competition for strategic critical resources.
"The advisory does not attempt to address every sector affected by geopolitical change. Rather, it focuses primarily on the electricity system and the industrial opportunities associated with this transformation.
“Its central position is that energy security, industrial development, economic competitiveness and the just transition should not be treated as separate policy objectives. They must form part of a coherent national development strategy," Mokate said.
