Botswana is exploring possibilities of finding a far cleaner way to use the energy in coal, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said Thursday.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the Morupule Coal Mine’s Motheo project in the central part of Botswana, President Masisi said the southern African country is aware of the sensitivities, particularly from the point of view of environmental sustainability and a green future.
“Actually, beyond being aware, we are also actively pursuing globally-adopted standards of decarbonization of fossil fuels like coal through using clean technologies,” said Masisi.
In April 2021, the parliament of Botswana adopted a climate change policy in accordance with the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP-26, requirements to reduce carbon emissions, according to Masisi.
During the energy transition period to a green economy, Masisi said Botswana will, in partnership with independent power producers, work steadily toward attaining investment capacity for the requisite energy mix that incorporates a significant proportion of cleaner energy sources.
Through the efficient and effective implementation of this policy, Botswana will ensure that the activities surrounding the country’s coal mining efforts will adhere to the international commitments for climate change, he said.
“We want to promote responsible exploitation of our natural resources for sustainable development while at the same time taking extraordinary measures to make best of the value of our coal resources to enable economic diversification in Botswana,” he said.
Charles Siwawa, a mining expert and the chief executive officer of the Botswana Chamber of Mines, told SAT on the sidelines of the commissioning ceremony that the backbone of research technologies will enable Botswana’s transition from a dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
Mining experts suggest that Botswana has significant quantities of untapped coal, which is estimated at around 202 billion tonnes.
