Masters Degrees (Economics)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Economics) by browse.metadata.advisor "Brent, Alan C."

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    Exploring the impacts of renewable energy and energy efficiency policies on the mining sector
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-04) Msimanga, Bongani; Brent, Alan C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Worldwide, energy has been, and continues to be, key to economic development. However, the current global consensus is that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions would, at current rates, put the world onto a potentially catastrophic trajectory which could lead to global warming of 5 degree Celsius or more compared to pre-industrial times. There is a critical need for a low-carbon development or a move away from conventional fossil fuels energy sources. This study explores impacts of policies that South Africa developed in order to champion sustainable energy strategies based on energy efficiency and non-conventional energy sources, including renewable energy. The mining sector, because of its energy-intensive nature, was chosen. In order to achieve this objective three approaches were carried out: (i) a critical review of literature on energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) ; (ii) two case-studies that demonstrate the impacts of the policies; and (iii) action research on a sample of mines using survey questionnaire and interviewing. The research results show that the need to have security in energy and the need to be competitive and grow revenue are significant in deciding to carry out EE and RE initiatives in the mining sector. The results also show that safety followed by production are the priorities and are accompanied by a range of other demands, such as cost reduction and legislative requirements. It is, therefore, within this context that EE and RE initiative will always be carried out in the mining sector. The research concludes that, under the current market framework, South African EE and RE policies are not as effective as hoped they would be. The research, therefore, recommends that a percentage of the mines’ revenue could be dedicated to EE and RE initiatives. In addition, South Africa needs to come up with a new type of productive endeavour that would lead to less extractive industries, including mines.