Energy and environment in South Africa: charting a course to sustainability

The past decade has witnessed a sea change in the priorities for the energy sector in South Africa - moving from the apartheid era single-minded emphasis on energy security to a broader concern about access to affordable energy, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Transforming an energy economy based on vast, inexpensive supplies of coal, large public investments in synthetic liquid fuels and nuclear power, and highly inequitable access to clean household fuels, however, presents a major challenge. This paper explores the major environmental impacts associated with energy use in South Africa, identifying areas that are clearly not sustainable. We also chart recent moves forward to address these challenges to "sustainable development" in the energy sector, with a focus on the household sector and bulk energy supply. We present a set of key policy recommendations that stress the importance of pressing economic and social development needs, and improving the quality of life of the majority, as the starting point for developing long term sustainability policies for the sector.