South Africa needs economic growth. In the short term, there is no doubt that tourism promotion has the best potential and the sooner South Africa introduces electronic visas and rolls out the red carpet for tourists, the better.

But there are also other growth opportunities that are crying out for attention and the one that is most obvious is environmental protection.

Countries that have seized the opportunity to mitigate climate change have been rewarded with economic surplus and reduced unemployment.

South Africa has enormous scope to take advantage of its superior sun, prime wind, land availability, business acumen and metals and minerals endowment to ensure clean electricity.

This can be used to produce green hydrogen from seawater for use in transport and stationary power.

Economies that have taken this route are booming. As California governor Gavin Newsom told South African Trevor Noah’s Daily Show: allow human genius to replace oil in an orderly and profitable fashion.

The many who see South Africa as being very well placed to take advantage of the climate-positive hydrogen fuel economy include Environment Minister Barbara Creecy, who sees countries like Japan, Europe and China and the US state of California already blazing a climate-positive trail with outstanding economic results.

Independent Californian hydrogen consultant Dr Jose Lopez Gallego told Mining Weekly earlier this year that nearly 30% of the energy in California was green and the mandate was to increase that to at least 60% by 2030 and be 100% carbon free by 2045.

Think of the foreign exchange burden South Africa could offload by generating its own hydrogen, which the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research calculates it can do competitively.

Think of the new jobs that going green would provide. Reports are circulating the world about the willingness of banks, both developmental and commercial, to fund renewable energy and climate- positive action.

South Africa can and must ensure a just transition away from coal and oil towards something more competitive.

Fuel cell electric vehicles, which use the platinum-group metals this country hosts, require hydrogen infrastructure, which will be another economic stimulus.

Government, business and labour must grasp the opportunity with enthusiasm, confidence and persuasion.

Failure to do so will be gross neglect of the South African people.

The government of California incentivises the selling of hydrogen by way of low-carbon fuel standard credits. The four automotive companies that are supporting the Californian drive are all operating in South Africa and could replicate what they are doing elsewhere in South Africa.

It is time for this country to emulate best practice and pave the way for satisfying huge local economic needs and doing what is morally, ethically and socially correct at the same time.