South Africa accounts for about half of the carbon emissions on the continent, says Richard Worthington of Earthlife Africa.
He said the country has an “energy-intensive economy that produces among the highest rates of greenhouse gas emissions globally”. For instance, South Africa produced 6,91 tonnes per person of fuel combustion carbon dioxide compared to Africa’s average of 0,86 tonnes per person. The world average is 3,89 tonnes.
In a 2000 report prepared by the Pew Centre, South Africa was ranked 19th ahead of countries like Argentina, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Spain.
The report notes that there is a strong relationship between emission, population and economic growth. In the report, South Africa’s growth in population is cited as the biggest contributor to emissions growth.
The biggest producers of greenhouses gases are the United States, China and the European Union. Non-European countries included on the top 25 greenhouse emitters are India (5th), Brazil (8th), South Korea (12th), Mexico (14th), Indonesia (16th), Australia (17th) and Iran (18th).
When the country’s gross domestic product is taken into consideration, South Africa is producing more carbon dioxide than developed countries.
It produces an average of 0,79kg per person per unit of economic activity while the developed world produces 0,51kg per person. The world average is 0,56kg and Africa’s average is 0,43kg.
The major pollutant gases are carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The companies involved are Eskom, Sasol and crude oil refineries.
Different gases have different levels of warming. Methane gas warms the Earth 21 times more than carbon dioxide.