Welcome to this bumper festive season edition of Business Fleet Africa with a wide range of topics, new vehicle launches and industry news. We also bring you a special report on the latest developments in the heated renewable energy debate.
When will the ICE age end in South Africa?
As we watch the big players argue about zero emissions, alternative fuels, sustainability, electric vs hybrid vehicles and so on, not many realise that electric vehicles are not environmentally friendly if you live in South Africa. We still rely on internal combustion engines (ICE) and coal-fired power plants (well, when they actually work). Then there is the SA government blowing hot air as it may not be in their best interest to go green.
Fuming over the fuel price and levies
The new high fuel price further inhibits an already crippled economy. Yes, the Brent crude price is high, but we should be fuming about the 126% increase in the various levies and taxes applied over the past decade. The country currently receives around R125-billion a year from taxation on fuel, so going green means something’s got to black-out. Then there is the issue that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy miscalculated the new fuel price, it was supposed to rise by 75c per litre, not 81.
Off-grid? Electric means getting right back on
Unless you can charge your electric car at renewable sources such as solar panels, it is not a cleaner “zero-carbon emissions” alternative, not to mention that it would probably be sensible to get off our on-and-off grid.
Many automakers and major nations copped out of COP26
Big Oil companies do not only want a seat in the room, they also want to own the block. At the recent COP26 (Climate Change) conference, 503 delegates were from fossil fuel companies—more than the largest delegation from any country. And, predictably, they are using the same arguments we’ve heard before, it is the consumers who need their products. Meanwhile, they have massive greenwashing and gaslighting campaigns to keep burning billions of barrels of oil and gas. It should tell us something if major automaking nations like Germany, Japan, China, and the US were absent from the COP26 agreement (though some US states and one Chinese automaker signed on).
Putting your money where your emissions are
Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, recently told the BBC that his company wants to transition to net-zero by 2050, but will need the income from its oil and gas business to pay for it. What happened to putting your money where your emissions are? In the meantime, Shell is also making headlines in the local “Shell can go to Hell” campaign as the company plans to carry out a seismic assessment off the Wild Coast starting in December. They seem to be in a hurry to find more oil before 2050.
Well, let’s leave this debate for now. We hope you enjoy the read and want to wish you a happy and safe festive season!
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