VANESSA MATHEBULA: Are net-zero goals realistic for SA?

Steam rises at sunrise from the Lethabo Power Station, a coal-fired power station owned by state power utility ESKOM near Sasolburg on March 2 2016. REUTERS/SIPHIWE SIBEKO

Globally there are already great initiatives in place, such as green financing solutions . But given SA’s many macroeconomic challenges, where do we stand as a country? Can we realistically move to the same rhythm as the global players? Aside from the obvious coal-mining and electricity-generating companies, transportation and financial sectors can also be indirectly linked to the coal industry. This therefore means the bulk of SA’s productive economy can be directly or indirectly linked to fossil fuels.

In line with the net-zero goals, if asset managers were to restrict exposure to fossil fuel-linked companies and instruments materially, diversification and bottom-line investment performance would be materially affected. For instance, buying SA government bonds would be a questionable exercise as some of the proceeds are channelled towards assisting state-owned entities closely linked to the coal industry, such as Eskom.

One of the ways we can realistically advance towards achieving our sustainability goals, given the challenges we face, is to adopt a net-positive contributor approach to overall environmental, social and governance factors. Not only does this enable us to factor climate-related factors into decisions in a less restrictive manner, it also enables us to consider sustainability factors such as the social aspect, which is crucial for a country with a history of inequality like SA.

Fill up the Burg with turbines for example

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