Climate change and development

Renewable energy (RE) has been touted not only as a means of mitigating carbon emissions in addressing climate change, but also as an instrument in improving energy security and contributing to socio-economic development. Internationally, this has seen the burgeoning of RE within the energy market which, despite the global financial crisis has increased by up to 16 per cent, reaching $120 billion during 2007. However, a growing gap is emerging between states in terms of access to and the implementation of RE technologies.This is particularly evident in southern Africa, where a reliance on expensive technology and subsidised fossil fuel has resulted in RE being largely confined to the periphery of policy making.