Hon Speaker, the recently released independent study by Umvoto Africa paints a very worrying picture of South Africa's future coal reserves. Instead of the much-touted 50 gigatons of coal reserves that was previously estimated, this study claims that we in fact only have 15 gigatons of coal left in the ground.
This figure brings into doubt the overreliance that the recently drafted 20- year energy plan places on coal-fired generation. Even if one discounts this study's estimates, one thing is certain: The price of coal, in terms of both its extraction and its environmental pollution, will rise exponentially over the next 20 years.
Another thing that is certain is that the price of renewable energy will continue to fall over the same period, a fact which is not being captured in the department's 20-year energy plan. In fact, it is explicitly stated that the same cost curve will be used for renewable energy throughout this 20-year period. This defies logic as well as the market experience of the last decade in which the price of all renewable energies has been rapidly decreasing, with the result that it is now one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
The ID firmly believes that we need to rapidly wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels and devise an energy plan that can see us lead the world in the field of renewable energy. I thank you.