Saliem Fakir - Low Carbon Future
South Africa in the Brics – opportunity or a lost cause?
By: Saliem Fakir 3rd October 2014 The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) meeting held in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July, ended with the establishment of the Brics... →
Future urban centres and role of innovative city planning for energy systems
By: Saliem Fakir 5th September 2014 After a long process of consultation, the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IDUF) has been released for further discussion and debate. The... →
Living wages, living allowances and the platinum strike
By: Saliem Fakir 18th July 2014 Debates on living wages or minimum wages are not unique to South Africa. You will find similar debates in France, the UK and the US following a... →
Electricity generation and future prices
By: Saliem Fakir 4th July 2014 Living with an electricity monopoly mandated to provide basic services is always a double-edged sword. If it is well run and efficient, it can be a... →
Four reasons why nuclear is dead beat 
By: Saliem Fakir 30th May 2014 I attended a recent Academy of Science of South Africa (Assaf) conference on nuclear power in Pretoria. It brought to fore the mountain of... →
What should we make of the economics of US shale gas industry?
By: Saliem Fakir 9th May 2014 There is heightened activity on the shale-gas front. Government is pushing ahead with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the Department of... →
The impact of energy prices on food inflation
By: Saliem Fakir 11th April 2014 On the surface, the relation between high electricity and oil prices and food inflation can be perceived as linear rather than dynamic. There is a... →
The good and the bad in the latest IRP
By: Saliem Fakir 21st March 2014 The latest version of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) has some interesting changes, which could have far-reaching consequences for South... →
Electricity price hikes and their impact on mining
By: Saliem Fakir 21st February 2014 The recent rise in electricity prices is eating away at everybody’s pockets. While energy-intensive users are the largest consumers of electricity,... →
Enviro externalities and how to deal with them
By: Saliem Fakir 24th January 2014 All environmental externalities emanate from the economy and they also reflect the evolution and moment at which societal values are. In reality,... →
