Eskom, Transnet and Sasol support the long-term climate change policy framework drafted by global business leaders which is due to be presented to the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations next month.

According to a Business Report article, the framework has been facilitated by the World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and is backed by the heads of 99 global companies. The document outlines a new, more environmentally effective and economically efficient long-term policy framework to succeed the Kyoto Accord which expires in 2012.  The main goal is for global emissions to at least halve by 2050.  High on the list of priorities is to accelerate development and diffusion of low-carbon technologies and to mobilise financial support to enable developing countries to adopt these technologies.  According to the WBCSD, the policy suggests a combination of “top-down” international commitments by governments and practical “bottom-up” efforts within and across industry sectors in the form of a multifaceted agenda of intensified public-private cooperation.

South Africa has a significant role to play with Eskom’s total emissions of carbon dioxide at about 210 million tons a year (which is more than the US’s largest electricity utility).  Eskom plans to drastically reduce this by 2025 by introducing more clean coal technologies, diversifying away from coal (from 88% to less than 70%), encouraging energy efficiency and decommissioning old coal-fired plants.

Click here to view the full Climate Policy Recommendations to G8 Leaders.