Currently, South Africa is reliant on coal to generate the bulk of its electricity. Coal resources in South Africa are abundant, and Eskom’s coal-fired power stations are designed to burn low-grade coal which may not otherwise be used, allowing the provision of low- cost electricity. The use of coal is, however, not without environmental impacts, including the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). In addition, changes in the climate will almost certainly impact on Eskom’s operations, for example in the area of water access. We concur with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) view that climate change is real and largely due to the efforts of human activities. This why we are continually investigating and implementing appropriate technologies to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining its our cost competitiveness in terms of electricity production, which we see as vitally important for a developing economy.

Climate change is, therefore, of great to concern to Eskom and as a result, we have been active in climate change discussions since the early 1990s and has have a living climate change strategy. Eskom also has a permanent seat on the National Committee for Climate Change (NCCC) and attends the international climate change negotiations as a member of the official government delegation.