Industries in Durban, South Africa, are a major source of air pollutant emissions and large users of fossil fuel based energy. Durban's energy strategy prioritises energy efficiency at industries as a key action, whilst industries are also the focus of the city's air quality management plan (AQMP). In this paper, measures that have been introduced in industries in Durban to effect air quality improvements and reduce energy consumption are examined in terms of their respective impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions. It was found that co-benefits for GHG mitigation were achieved when petroleum refineries switched from using heavy fuel oil to refinery gas and methane rich gas. Within other industries, co-benefits for air quality stemmed from reducing fossil fuel energy consumption and the improved efficiency of combustion systems. Air quality and energy policies in the city are being executed independently, without consideration of the trade-offs or synergies of the interventions being implemented. Recommendations are made for authorities and industries to consider the co-benefits for GHG mitigation in their AQMPs and where these are not possible to consider offsetting the increased GHG emissions through improved alignment with energy strategies
Reference:
Thambiran, T. and Diab, R.D. 2011. Air quality and climate change co-benefits for the industrial sector in Durban, South Africa. Energy Policy, Vol 39(10), pp 6658-6666
Thambiran, T., & Diab, R. (2011). Air quality and climate change co-benefits for the industrial sector in Durban, South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5256
Thambiran, Tirusha, and RD Diab "Air quality and climate change co-benefits for the industrial sector in Durban, South Africa." (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5256
Thambiran T, Diab R. Air quality and climate change co-benefits for the industrial sector in Durban, South Africa. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/5256.
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Energy Policy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Energy Policy, Vol 39(10), pp 6658-6666