The climate change threat can only be confronted through activism led by the youth, says Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Kenny Morolong.
Morolong said the BRICS nations are key actors in the global energy landscape, both as consumers and producers of energy needs.
The Deputy Minister was speaking at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Youth Summit in Durban.
He said the dual challenge of ensuring energy security and combating climate change, requires the world to transition to a more secure and sustainable energy system.
This transition he said, holds substantial prospective benefits for the youth, emphasising that for young people to fully take advantage of these new job opportunities, the BRICS will need to invest in education and skills training.
“This investment will have to focus on technical training in renewable energy technologies, as well as broader skills, such as project management, policy analysis, and entrepreneurship. In this regard, a corps of skilled youth will be more capable of realising the economic opportunities that will flow out of the renewable energy interventions,” Morolong said on Thursday.
He added that the Just Energy Transition also presents opportunities for entrepreneurship, and young people in BRICS nations can create start-ups that provide innovative solutions for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate resilience.
To practically encourage entrepreneurship, financiers and governments will have to develop new financial instruments and provide financial support and mentoring.
“The creation of a favourable regulatory environment, and promotion of collaboration between start-ups, academia, and industry led decisively by our governments. The Just Energy Transition beckons a unique opportunity to create enormous economic value for our domestic economies and for the youth.
“Through the creation of green jobs, investment in education and skills training, promotion of youth entrepreneurship, and the involvement of the youth in policy making, BRICS can ensure that energy transition is just and equitable.”
Held under the theme “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”, the four-day summit, which started on 18 July 2023, brought together youth participants and afforded them an opportunity to share ideas and work on a concrete Action Plan for co-operation in economic, humanitarian, mass media and the science sphere.
The BRICS Youth Summit is among the series of high-level engagements, hosted by KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, as a precursor to the 15th BRICS Summit that will take place in August 2023. – SAnews.gov.za
