The Green Connection is calling on Parliament to withdraw the proposed Gas Bill, warning that it could deepen South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels at a time when communities are already facing the impacts of increasingly severe weather events and rising electricity costs.
The eco-justice organisation says the Bill could expose consumers to volatile international gas prices, weaken protections for communities and landowners, and give the Minister broad powers, while potentially undermining the country’s climate commitments and the Climate Change Act.
Neville Van Rooy, Community Outreach Ambassador at The Green Connection says the government want to create a room for fossil fuel activities and infrastructure to be choking into the future as well, when other countries have long ditched the fossil fuel dependency.
“We are calling on the government to take measures, quick measures, important measures, to stray us away from this disaster that will entangle us and choke us long in the future, bearing in mind what we have to deal with here in terms of fossil fuel dependency. It will be released in the next week or two for the public for comment. We hope and encourage all people wide and far to put in their comments on this bill as well. We have already made our submissions that this is not a good bill in terms of our energy future that we want to go in. Also, because of our country already being a signatory to the Paris Agreement that says that we will move away from fossil fuels and keep our temperatures between below 1.5 and very important, just last year we have enacted the Climate Act, Climate Change act and also there we have committed to not go with this,” said Van Rooy.
Van Rooy added that they really hope that this moratorium that is now going to be in place is really going to caution and really hold the government and companies responsible to take measures in place so that they do not have reckless activities such as this.
“So now it is very shocking to hear that we actually want to have a company and to want to legalize this and creating room for more gas dependency on fossil fuels going forward. Very disturbing. We really hope that this moratorium that is now going to be in place is really going to caution and really hold our government and companies responsible to make take measures in place so that we do not have reckless activities such as this, destructive activities on the ocean or elsewhere for the sake of an economic model that doesn’t necessarily produce into benefits for all the people, especially our marginalized groups all around the coastal areas that have their livelihoods dependent on the oceans as well, “he said.
Van Rooy further added that in terms of the gas price alone, and its fluctuating on an international scale as well, it’s definitely going to be unaffordable for the ordinary person household that needs to just get the lights on.
“And then we also talking about the electricity pricing complications that this could come up with as well. Also, the gas volatility that of the international markets that we are exposing ourselves to in the process as well. And for us, this is just not a good decision for us to take and that’s why we are saying it needs to be changed. Yes, definitely. Because in terms of the gas price alone, in terms of its fluctuating on an international scale as well, and it’s definitely going to be unaffordable for the ordinary person household that needs to just get the lights on It will definitely. We will also feel the pinch in,” he said.
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