adminpartnership project to pilot, test and demonstrate the feasibility and viability of electric vehicles under South African conditions,” the minister said at the launch in Pretoria.
“The fundamental motivation for embarking on this project is the urgent need for South Africa to transition to a job creating, sustainable, low carbon and green economy as clearly outlined in the National Development Plan,” Molewa said.
The transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy can create large numbers of green jobs across many sectors of the economy, and indeed can become an engine of development, she stressed.
The project is expected to help the country ensure energy security, reduce its reliance on imported oil and address the global climate change crisis with its disastrous economic, environmental, human health and social impacts, she said.
She stressed the urgent need for South Africa to become an efficient and globally competitive economy, and develop and adopt innovative technologies to grow new green sectors in the economy as a foundation for the creation of new and decent jobs in the economy.
“This project is not only about electric cars themselves but also about what kind of supporting infrastructure, such as battery charge stations, need to be in place to enable a significant uptake and use of electric cars in the country,” she said.
This initiative, involving several government departments and private businesses, is a multi-stakeholders partnership program aimed at sustainability for many decades to come.
The automotive sector is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions which result primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, including petrol and diesel.
The transportation sector accounts for 30 percent of carbon emissions in industrialised economies and about 20 percent worldwide.
Globally, the sector is the third largest contributor to air pollution, according to the minister.
The global fleet has been growing at a rate of about 16 million vehicles per year since 1970 and by 2025 is expected to reach 1 billion vehicles on the road. Projections indicate that emissions from vehicles will grow significantly in line with the increasing global vehicle demand.
The green car, introduced by South Africa, is also known as zero emission electric vehicles (ZEEV).
A unique feature of ZEEV is that they are fully powered by solar energy rather than power from the national grid.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said at the launch that the project formed part of the government’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent by 2020.
“One of our targets is to ensure we invest in the green economy . . . A journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step and this is the first step.”
She said that it was also important that green technology, like the pilot project, be produced in South Africa.
“Whatever technology we want to deploy, we want to ensure that it is locally procured,” said Peters. —Xinhua.
Online Reporter