The role of industrial policy in pursuing climate change mitigation objectives in South Africa
This thesis has drawn on Fine and Rustomjee's (1996) notion of the Minerals-Energy Complex (MEC) as a tool to analyse the relationship between industrial policy, energy use, and climate change mitigation policy in the South African context. The analysis finds that the South African economy has clearly developed in response to sets of industrial incentives offered both pre- and post-apartheid, which have structured the economy in such a way that electricity-intensive industry have come to dominate exports and investment in the country, but with very little positive effect on socio-economic development. This structure has a detrimental effect on possible mitigation actions; firstly because with the current development trajectory, it will be very challenging to meet mitigation targets as laid out in the country's Long-term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS), and secondly because the mitigation wedges outlined in the LTMS will require significant shifts in the approaches, types and range of industrial policy measures that the country uses.
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