OR Tambo Debate series – Eighth Debate on The Green Economy and the National Development Plan

About This Project

On the 16th October 2017, the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation, in partnership with the Wits School of Governance, United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation hosted the 8th instalment of the O.R Tambo Debate Series. The topic was The Green Economy and the National Development Plan (NDP). The debate helped by the Partnership for Action on the Green Economy.

PANELLISTS
Ms Tasneem Essop: Member of the National Planning Commission; Head of Climate
Strategy and Advocacy for the International World Wide Fund for
Nature
Prof Mark Swilling: Co-Director of the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition; Academic Director of the Sustainability Institute
Ms Ntombifuthi Ntuli: Principal Researcher for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Energy Centre
Mr Dinga Sikwebu:  Co-Director of the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education

MODERATOR
Prof David Everatt: Head of School, Wits School of Governance

POSITION PAPER AUTHORS
Dr Ivor Sarakinsky & Dr Rethabile Melamu

Embedding green economy principles in developmental policy: the seeds have indeed been sown – we have come thus far. The country’s developmental policy has come a long way since the dawn of its democracy. The most notable aspect of which is, the embedding of green economy principles into this developmental path. The country has sought to promote a diverse and equitable economy, in line with UNEP’s green economy definition of: An economy that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities (UNEP, 2011)

Simplified, this green economy is: low carbon, resource efficient and social inclusive. These green economy
principles encapsulate the notion of sustainable development, which seeks to balance economic, social and
environmental imperatives. Balancing these competing priorities was limited in earlier policies. Consider the
White Paper on Energy (1998), while it advocated for intensified energy efficiency in industry, mining and
commercial sector, it limited the role of renewable energy, especially solar energy, to non-grid, rural
electrification applications.

Multimedia

Click here for the video link of the whole debate