Power
Copper recycling and CO2 reduction
The fourth annual Brown to Green Report found that South Africa has the highest intensity of emissions in the power sector, with emissions per capita roughly double the G20 average. This is because of South Africa’s dependency on coal and expansive coal-generation projects.
F
inance Minister Tito Mboweni confirmed that carbon tax will become effective in June 2019 as South Africa intends to play its role as part of the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Companies will be given the opportunity to reduce their emissions of carbon and will be taxed if the agreed reduction targets are not reached. The first phase of the tax will be from 1 June 2019 to 31 December 2022 and the second phase from 2023 to 2030. The initial tax rate will be modest but will increase over time to incentivise companies to implement cleaner technologies in the future. The reluctance to accept cleaner energy such as solar and wind has been well publicised in the media but what is not widely known is that copper helps reduce CO2 emissions and reduces the amount of energy required to produce electricity. By using recycled copper to produce electrical fittings and cables carbon footprints can be reduced as less energy is used to melt recycled copper than creating copper from ore. Regrettably current policies in place are failing the copper recycling industry and preventing economic development by allowing the uncontrolled export of copper scrap from our shores, a practise that also unwittingly encourages money laundering.
www.alive2green.com/publications/green-economy-journal/
GEJ 34.indd 31
Electrical products containing copper tend to operate more efficiently because it is the best non-precious conductor of heat and electricity known to man and is totally recyclable without losing any of its properties.
Unless this scourge is recognised and corrected soon, it will have dire consequences for the copper industry and the economy. Materials complementing green fuels will be the new cornerstone of the economy and care should be taken to avoid any new inessential import dependencies. The importance of the circular economy is set to increase. Materials already in use should be viewed as prized and be re-used or recycled wherever possible.
31 2019/05/09 3:26 PM