16 November 2011 | Interviews | Resisting neoliberalism | Human rights | Extractive industries | Climate Justice and Energy | COP 17
In the Path to Renewables
Dirty energy: A key issue for South Africa ahead of the COP on climate change
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Cheap, renewable energy for local communities and to stop mining and the use of coal for electricity will be the main demands of the South African organization Greater Middleburg Resident’s Association in the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference (COP 17) to be held in Durban.
“We are going to demand that all mining activities be completely stopped”, Thomas Mnguni of the Greater Middleburg Resident’s Association told Real World Radio. “Let us keep the coal in a hole and go for renewable energy, that is the strongest message that we are going to send to the COP 17”, to be held from November 28 to December 9 in Durban, South Africa. Nearly 100% of the energy in South Africa is generated from coal, which releases carbon dioxide, the most polluting of greenhouse gases.
Middleburg is a town in Mpumalanga province and Greater Middleburg Resident’s Association was founded to protect the rights and interests of ordinary citizens. It educates people in all aspects so that their rights are not infringed upon. They defend the right to health, the right to a natural environment, to organic food, to clean water, clean air, the right to demonstrate, the right to be heard publicly.
The South African group is running different workshops on environmental issues and they are pushing the government so that it takes action that will impact on people’s lives, “we need to see cheap and renewable energy being introduced into our communities”, he explained.
They even went to the department of energy and mineral resources to say they need cheap renewable energy for people and they also started engaging all relevant stakeholders (especially religious groups) to say we need to fight for renewable energies.
The Greater Middleburg Resident’s Association will participate in the Dirty Energy Week to be held in Durban from November 22 to 25 -organized by GroundWork/Friends of the Earth South Africa- as well as in other demonstrations to put energy issues on the table.
Mnguni said that in Mpumalanga province, 200 km from Johannesburg airport, there are a lot of mining activities, which subsequently lead to a lot of acid drainage. “We are exposed to a lot of tars coming from mining operations”, said the social leader “And we’ve got Eskom around the area, which has a high volume of greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa”.
