Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa says transitioning to a low-carbon future is an opportunity to grow South Africa’s economy.
“For us, reducing our carbon footprint is critical to the health and well-being of our people, the sustainability of our society and ensuring that our goods and services remain competitive into the future. At the same time, it is a great opportunity to grow and diversify our economy and create employment,” Ramaphosa said.
He said that to encourage the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, the government had produced a Just Energy Transition Investment Plan. He said it would direct resources to workers, communities and industries affected by the shift towards renewable energy sources, and to investing in new industries such as green hydrogen and electric vehicles.
“We currently have a range of measures to support automotive manufacturers, such as the Special Economic Zone incentives, the Automotive Investment Scheme and others. We will soon be finalising a strategy to support the transition to electric vehicle manufacturing that is affordable and effective,” he said.
Ramaphosa said this shift presented a threat to the country’s auto industry, which mainly produces petrol and diesel vehicles, about 60% of which are exported to Europe, and “an enormous opportunity”.
Last week, BMW Group South Africa announced a R4.2 billion investment in the electrification of its Rosslyn Plant. From next year, BMW Group Plant Rosslyn will produce the BMW X3 as a plug-in hybrid for worldwide export.
Ramaphosa said a there were fears that the move towards decarbonisation would result in job losses, BMW’s plans for job retention, reskilling and training on electro-mobility would provide certainty to more than 20 000 employees across the country.
Last year, the company opened offices at the plant for its global IT hub, providing global IT services for the BMW Group.
BMW SA management board chairperson Milan Nedeljkovi said: “Owing to its size and its specific characteristics as a market, South Africa is also the perfect place to pilot innovations.”