Drilling down at COP17: Tshwane's green solutions

So we've touched on green economy job creation, so this morning I'm at the SunCoast Hotel in Umhlanga listening to the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, unpacking how Tshwane will promote green investments and what its green strategies are...

"Tshwane will become the only metro in the whole country that will be account significantly for the contribution of agriculture to its GDP within the next five years," he says.

"Tshwane is setting targets to employ green services in its future maintenance and infrastructure development work, to be announced soon. If the burden is legislatively placed on South African cities to institute carbon taxes, the city is in favour of employing this income for further green development.

"The Bus Raid Transport system of Tshwane will be partly powered by CMG technology, should the technology and biofuels be available timeously. In our last Council meeting, we approved the construction of a 20 megawatt solar energy farm in Rooiwal, Tshwane.

"Create and attract the skills that will enable us to employ the obvious benefits of green technology and living available in our environment, the IDC's collaboration in this is invaluable. The city will be releasing its Tshwane Green Economy Policy Statement by February 2012."

Some of the other panelists:

Gerhard Fourie, Chief Director, green Industries at the dti (Department of Trade & Industry), with his team of 12, is responsible for driving policy at national level  to enable a green economy, especially in view of creating 5 million jobs and new industries in South Africa. "dti lists anything that has bearance on environmentally friendly solutions as 'green'. This week, first 57 players in the renewable energy programme will be announced at COP17 (to employ 5.6 million solar water heaters by 2020), as well as alternative energy solutions to feed into the grid."

"Exciting news: on Wednesday at COP17, the President of COP (Minister of DIRCO) will showcase its recently announced SA Renewables Initiative (dubbed SARi) driven by the dti and Departments of Energy and Environment as an inter-governmental green funding drive, which will collaborate with the European Investment Bank, among others, on funding."

Cecilia Njenga of UNEP: "Waste management is becoming a central theme in metropolitan management, but what does recycling mean? UNEP's definition of 'green' integrates social equity and human well-being with a low-carbon economy."

Stanley Mupanomunda of the Specialist IDC Industries Business Unit says the IDC can employ funds in the newly announced Green Climate Fund, working mainly with private sector. City of Joburg water treatment project to reduce global figure of 95% ending up in landfill by about 15% for the Joburg metro.

Unfortunately, I had zip off NOW to the International Parliamentary Union to hear our friend Abdul Waheed Patel of Ethicore at Moses Mabida Presidential Suite - very sad to leave this grassroots PRACTICAL APPLICATION session mid-stream, but have just heard there is a breakfast here on Wednesday morning (yay!), which I will make every effort to join and provide more in-depth facts.