White certificates and white certificate trading schemes as greenhouse gas mitigation policy options for South Africa

A white certificate, which is also referred to as an Energy Saving Certificate (ESC), or an Energy Efficiency Credit (EEC), is an instrument awarded by an authorisation body to guarantee that a specific amount of energy savings has been achieved. Each certificate is a unique and traceable commodity carrying a property right over a certain amount of additional energy savings and certifying that the benefit of these savings has not been accounted for elsewhere (EuroWhiteCert Project, 2006)

Emissions trading as a policy option for greenhouse gas mitigation in South Africa

An emissions trading scheme (ETS) is based on the allocation of allowances to emit pollutants, which in the case of climate change are greenhouse gases. Allowances are allocated to a defined set of emitters, who are required to hold sufficient allowances to cover their emissions at the end of a compliance period, or face penalties. Scarcity is created in the scheme through the allocation of fewer allowances than emissions, resulting in emitters having to choose between reducing their emissions in line with their allowance allocations, or purchasing additional allowances to cover their excess emissions levels

Emissions trading as a policy option for greenhouse gas mitigation in South Africa

Emissions trading is fast becoming one of the most popular policy instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions internationally. This hybrid instrument combines the certainty of mitigation volume delivered by regulation, whilst also harnessing the power of the market through an economic approach to deliver migitation price discovery and least cost mitigation opportunities. Theoretically, this is a powerful combination. However, the realities of uncertainty and lack of information result in international emissions trading experience deviating substantially from the instrument’s theoretical potential. This is of particular relevance in a developing country context. Scheme design is therefore very important to counter these market failures, and policymakers are required to strike a balance between this and introducing distortions. Given that the instrument is in its infancy, performance of the various schemes up and running internationally is inconclusive. Emissions trading proponents argue that the benefits will be realised over time, once the initial teething problems are overcome. The paper is the result of research conducted in 2008 and presented at the South African Climate Policy Summit in 2009. It considers theory and international experience in application to the potential establishment of an emissions trading scheme in South Africa. Lack of data, capacity and experience with markets in the energy sector present complications in the use of the instrument as a central part of the nation’s mitigation policy suite, as do market concentration issues. Should an emissions trading be proposed, the paper argues for ways in which its design could address these complications, and align with the current energy security imperative resulting from the electricity crisis in the country, the twin political objectives of poverty reduction and employment creation of the recently elected government, and the timeframes proposed by the Long Term Mitigation Scenarios

White Certificates and White Certificate Trading Schemes as greenhouse gas mitigation policy options for South Africa

AbstractEnergy efficiency activities driven by White Certificate Trading schemes (WCT) achieve the objective of conserving energy, and in most circumstances, also that of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The potential therefore exists that both objectives could be targeted by a single policy mechanism. Energy efficiency activities are important from a GHG mitigation perspective as they represent some of the least costly GHG mitigation activities available to economies. However, there are some significant differences between the use of a direct policy instrument to target GHG emissions mitigation, and the use of an indirect instrument such as WCT, whose direct policy objective is to achieve energy efficiency. Most importantly, WCT utilises intensity targets, whereas GHG mitigation is required by science to comprise absolute reductions. International experience does however suggest that white certificates can be fully fungible with a GHG mitigation policy instrument such as an emissions trading scheme, as long as double counting rules are firmly in place, and the design of the schemes are compatible.Given that 80 percent of the South African GHG emissions are energy related, with energy efficiency measures in industry, commerce and the residential sector representing the bulk of negative cost mitigation options available in the economy, energy efficiency has an important role to play in the country’s mitigation strategy.This paper presents results on research into WCT as a policy option for South Africa conducted in 2008 and presented at the Climate Change Summit 2009.  It investigates in particular the Electricity Conservation Scheme (ECS) as an option for incorporating a WCT mechanism.There is limited experience and therefore analysis on WCS available to date, and even less on the potential interaction and linkages of WCS and emissions trading schemes. This paper therefore identifies signific

Emissions trading as a policy option for greenhouse gas mitigation in South Africa

Emissions trading is fast becoming one of the most popular policy instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions internationally. This hybrid instrument combines the certainty of mitigation volume delivered by regulation, whilst also harnessing the power of the market through an economic approach to deliver migitation price discovery and least cost mitigation opportunities. Theoretically, this is a powerful combination.However, the realities of uncertainty and lack of information result in international emissions trading experience deviating substantially from the instrument’s theoretical potential. This is of particular relevance in a developing country context. Scheme design is therefore very important to counter these market failures, and policymakers are required to strike a balance between this and introducing distortions. Given that the instrument is in its infancy, performance of the various schemes up and running internationally is inconclusive. Emissions trading proponents argue that the benefits will be realised over time, once the initial teething problems are overcome. The paper is the result of research conducted in 2008 and presented at the South African Climate Policy Summit in 2009. It considers theory and international experience in application to the potential establishment of an emissions trading scheme in South Africa. Lack of data, capacity and experience with markets in the energy sector present complications in the use of the instrument as a central part of the nation’s mitigation policy suite, as do market concentration issues. Should an emissions trading be proposed, the paper argues for ways in which its design could address these complications, and align with the current energy security imperative resulting from the electricity crisis in the country, the twin political objectives of poverty reduction and employment creation of the recently elected government, and the timeframes proposed by the Long Term Mitigation Scenarios

Blanke Afrikaanse christen ouers se opvoedingsleer: implikasies vir die opvoedkundige sielkunde.

Prof. J.C. Ko

Begeleiding aan ouers van kinders met Aspergersindroom

M.Ed.A few pupils attending schools for extraordinary education have been diagnosed as children with Asperger 'syndrome. The change in diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV and accompanying redefining of Asperger syndrome brought about an increase in diagnosing as well as a greater awareness of this syndrome. The most important characteristic of Asperger syndrome is the serious and continuous effect it has on the child's social interaction. This syndrome affects the whole functioning of the child and these children demand much more of their educators. There is, however, no clarity concerning the specific problems the parents of children with Aspergersyndrome encounter and educational psychologists are not sure to what extent the parents of these children are in need of guidance in the handling of their children's educational and developmental problems. Because of the above-mentioned uncertainties the following research questions are asked: How do parents of children with Asperger syndrome experience their children's dysfunctional social dynamics? What guidelines can be given to the educational psychologist when advising parents on how to handle their children with Asperger syndrome? By means of a literary study the educational situation of the child with Asperger syndrome is explored first. The diagnosing, typical symptoms and associated characteristics of these children, educational involvement with these children and parental guidance from an educational psychological perspective, is mentioned. The research done in this study is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual and aims to bring about insight and understanding in the experience and needs of parents with children who have Asperger syndrome. The research method used, was the interviewing of parents of children with Asperger syndrome and the data received was analysed by means of an inductive and descriptive method of analysis. Four themes were determined: (1) the parents' experience of the social disfunction of their children with Asperger syndrome, (2) the influence that a child with Asperger syndrome has on relationships inside and outside the nuclear family, (3) the more complicated and demanding educational involvement of a parent of a child with Asperger syndrome and (4) the need for and realization of parental support and guidance of parents of children with Asperger syndrome. A number of guidelines, based on the themes identified by the analysis of the data have been developed for educational psychologists in their guidance of these parents. To conclude - research has indicated that the educational psychologist guiding the parents of children with Asperger syndrome ought to, have the necessary therapeutic skills, be a knowledgable specialist in the field of Asperger syndrome (and pervasive developmental disorders), be objective and professional and have the required knowledge and skills concerning teacher-guidance and group-leadership. It has also been established that parents of children with Asperger syndrome don't always have the educational skills to comply with their child's special needs and thus, in need off parental guidance. The parents, however, find themselves in an unique family unit which results in the fact that parental guidance cannot be prescribed in an encompassing model but has to be adapted to the practical- and emotional needs of each individual family unit

Ouerbegeleiding — 'n opgawe vir opvoedkundige sielkundigesParental guidance — a task for educational psychologists

Parental guidance within specific educational settings requires distinct emphasis because of parents' unique needs. In order to guide and assist white Afrikaans-speaking Christian parents effectively, it is necessary, firstly, to determine the nature and content of such intervention. This is possible only if the parents' needs regarding the education of their children are known. For this reason, white Afrikaansspeaking Christian parents' needs regarding general educational matters and their need for Christian-based parental guidance on the spiritual education of their children were investigated, with the aim of determining the impact their needs may have in respect of the practice of educational psychology. The data collected indicated that white Afrikaans-speaking Christian parents have a very strong need for guidance regarding the discipline and spiritual education of, and communication with, their children, whilst they appear to have little need for guidance concerning political issues. These findings necessitate that educational psychologists note these parents' strong, weak or divergent parental guidance needs. Educational psychologists should also consider, from the perspective of their field of speciality, which educational matters should be addressed during intervention with these parents, even though these matters are not specifically indicated by the parents as a particular need (such as the political issues). Furthermore, in the event that educational psychologists are not (or do not feel themselves) able to assist these parents on a spiritual level, they should refer them to a Christian counsellor. South African Journal of Education Vol. 26(2) 2006: 319–33