Botswana’s coal industry: Russia/Ukraine war and the rise of the phoenix
Monday, May 30, 2022 | 960 Views |
Due to the pressure, we saw Europe and the Western world decide to reduce their coal consumption in the past decade. This was especially prevalent in banking where we saw most companies stop funding anything coal or dirty fuel related. At the recently ended UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) which was held in Glasgow in October to November 2021, most developing nations committed to phasing out the use of coal by 2030 with the latest being 2050.
This evolution of sentiment for coal was a big blow to the local coal industry. Around 2005 Botswana decided to diversify its economy by focusing on coal since we have an estimated 200 billion tons of coal under the ground. This coal would largely be used for local electricity generation but more for export as China and India ramped up consumption of coal as they fed their appetite for industrial and economic growth.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...