cities

Most of South Africa’s energy consumption occurs in cities: just eight cities (metros) consume more
than one-third of national energy consumption, and more than half of all petrol and diesel (SEA,
2015). Figure 5.2 shows the energy use and emissions for a typical metro.
Figure 5.2: Energy use and emissions for a typical metro
15%
15%
34%
33%
Energy by fuel
3%
Electricity
Coal
Petrol
Diesel
Jet Fuel
1%
70%
Energy by sector
12% 4%
13%
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Transport
Government
Emissions by fuel
2%
Emissions by sector
7%
16%
2%
8%
67%
Source: SEA (2015)
Electricity
Coal
Petrol
Diesel
Jet Fuel
38%
28%
26%
6%
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Transport
Government
5
Figure 5.2 shows that:
• Energy use is split evenly between petrol (34%), electricity (33%) and diesel and jet fuel (30%),
with a negligible contribution (3%) from coal. The transport sector accounts for 70% of energy
consumed within a typical metro.
• Electricity generation is the largest contributor to emissions, accounting for two-thirds (67%) of
all emissions. This is in part because South Africa uses coal to generate the bulk of its electricity,
and coal has a very high emissions factor. The transport sector is the largest emitter (38%),
followed by the industrial and commercial sectors (34% combined).
As the largest consumers of energy, cities are at considerable risk from rising electricity tariffs, crude
oil import tariffs and climate change pressures. Yet, at the same time, they have a huge potential to
enhance energy security, reduce emissions and lead the transition to cleaner energy sources. In this
regard, cities have made some progress, as the following sections illustrate, but implementation and
scaling-up of initiatives have been limited.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES 167