Trade barriers block clean energy efforts
Local content requirements are a pillar of SA's industrial policy, particularly in its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. The government wants to grow local jobs and skills, as well as diversify the country's energy mix away from fossil fuels to meet its climate change commitments.
Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, CE of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, told the Global Cleantech Conference on Wednesday that international agreements were critical in driving the development of clean technologies. Clean technologies embrace energy, water management, waste disposal and other systems used for pollution control.
The Finnish ministry of employment and the economy has organised the conference.
Global carbon emissions were stable last year despite growth in the world economy, reflecting increased penetration of renewable energy technologies.
However, renewable energy use was still rising too slowly to achieve the International Energy Agency's targets to keep the rise in global temperatures to below 2ºC by the end of this century, Melendez-Ortiz said.
The main obstacles to renewable energy growth were subsidies for fossil fuels in many countries, anti-dumping measures - although falling prices of imported goods might also reflect the learning curve rather than dumping - and local content requirements.
These requirements were against World Trade Organisation agreements but were in place in many countries, Melendez-Ortiz said, and could be challenged by affected industries. "They contribute to making technologies less accessible and less advanced."
Ross Bruton, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan Europe, said that by 2050 the global market for clean technology was expected to be worth $8.7tn, or 3.1% of global gross domestic product.
Source: Business Day