The study addresses the issues related to climate change, energy production
(traditional biomass and fossil fuels) as well as the potential of exploring renewable
energy sources. The area of focus is the SADC region; this paper evaluates the
implementation of the SADC Energy Access Strategy and Action Plan. It is an energy
policy that was widely accepted and ratified by SADC member states in March 2010.
The study is narrowed down to focus on the implementation of this policy in three SADC
countries with different levels of energy consumption. These countries are South Africa
with 80% of national energy consumption, Lesotho with 18% of national energy
consumption and Mauritius which has 99.9% of national energy consumption.
This study argues that the SADC Energy Access Strategy and Action Plan has
implications for peace, security and development in the region. This is evident in climate
change being an issue of emergency, more emphasis has been put on the use of
renewable energy as opposed to fossil fuels and traditional biomass, which affects the
climate and contributes to global warming. Renewable energy reduces carbon dioxide
emissions and global warming.SADC leaders had to come up with ways to adapt to
climate change and its effects; this gave birth to the SADC Energy Access Strategy and
Action Plan in March 2010. The Action Plan came in as a solution to the energy crisis
and as a strategy to realign the SADC energy sector to that of the world.
The study further argues that Africa, and in particular SADC region has abundant
renewable energy resources (solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy.etc), much of
which are still untapped, yet have the capacity to supply the region with renewable
energy for decades.
The findings of the study confirm that SADC Energy Access Strategy and Action Plan
indeed has implications for Peace, Security and Development in the region. The lack of
proper planning, commitment and funds, as well as investments into the energy sector
hinder the development of the regional energy sector and energy access projects. The
SADC region has the potential to meet the energy demands and to venture into the use
of renewable energy. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.(International Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/16157 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Magam, Nolubabalo |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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