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Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

The International Finance Corporation principal investment officer in South Africa Stephan Vermaak says that the IFC will increase its lending to the renewable energy sector globally by three times the 2005 to 2007 levels over the next three years.

Vermaak says that the corporation aims to invest about 500-million-dollars a year on renewable energy projects by 2011.

The IFC has decided to strongly support renewable energies and to promote less carbon intensive fuel projects. It will finance coal and oil-based projects only where there are no other alternatives.

Africa is the IFC's regional priority, with the corporation setting investment in climate reform and proactive project development of large infrastructure and extractive projects as two of its biggest objectives.

Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica says that the Department of Environmental Affairs will release South Africa's draft climate change policy for comment by the end of September.

She says that she's seen the draft document, which was based on the country's Long Term Mitigation Scenario. It will go to Cabinet within the next three weeks.

The draft policy was informed by the LTMS document and the subsequent deliberations that took place at the climate change summit held in Johannesburg, in March.

Comments from the draft ‘zero' policy, as well as any potential agreements reached at the Copenhagen global climate negotiations, in December, will likely contribute to the Green Paper.

South Africa's national climate change response policy is set to be developed by the end of 2010, and the related fiscal, legislative and regulatory package is expected to be implemented by 2012.

Also making headlines:
Alstom launches a new turbine for the generation of undersea power.
Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan says she is prepared to exercise her ‘prerogative' in appointing a Transnet CEO.
The long-awaited launch of South Africa's satellite is delayed to Wednesday.
And, statistics show that Johannesburg's Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system transports an average of 16 000 people every day.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.