The Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, today outlined the importance of why Africa should embark on the ‘green economy’. Patel says African countries are facing a challenge to industrialize their economies in a bid to compete with powerful economic countries such as Europe, the US and China. But, he says for the continent to mitigate the effects of Climate Change, African countries need to find ways to green their economies. “We are facing a challenge to industrialize, but that will burn enormous amount of fossil fuels and that will affect our children…We should do more to green our economies,” says Patel in his speech delivered to thousands of journalists from the continent at the Highway Africa and Pan African Conference on Access to Information (PACAI) conference in Cape Town.
Patel outlines South Africa’s plans to ‘go green’.
“We are facing a challenge to industrialize, but that will burn enormous amount of fossil fuels and that will affect our children…We should do more to green our economies.”
He says the New Growth Path plan is one of the initiatives aimed at greening the economy. He says the green economy can create some 300 000 jobs by 2020. He added that they have already installed over 140 000 solar heaters in the country and the plan is to ensure that over one million units are manufactured and installed in the country. South Africa will also be hosting the COP17 conference in Durban later this year in a bid to find a solution to Climate Change challenges. The Highway Africa themed: African media and global sustainability challenge started yesterday and will end tomorrow. The conference is held in conjunction with the launch of PACAI, an initiative aimed at fighting for media freedom in the continent/SA.
– By Palesa Kobedi
