Wits Business School is pleased to announce its upcoming energy conference in partnership with the Consulate General of India, Johannesburg.

The two-day conference, dubbed Matla-Urja (meaning “energy” in Sesotho and Hindi) will bring together industry leaders and academics from South Africa and India to engage on both shared and divergent energy challenges as well as explore investment opportunities.

India is the third largest energy consumer globally and has emerged as a global leader in the energy transition.  The country has created a power surplus and has turned around its entire energy supply chain in order to meet its goal of providing secure and sustainable energy to its vast citizenship. Despite  progress made in its transition to a clean energy future, India faces significant challenges ahead, including funding and mitigation of climate change  issues.

South Africa faces the multipronged challenge of providing affordable, secure and clean energy for its citizens in ways that simultaneously combat poverty, unemployment and inequality. In the context of a near collapse of its national grid resulting in rolling black-outs, South Africa’s goal is to ensuring security of electricity supply while pursuing a diversified energy mix.

With the shared challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy while addressing critical socio-economic and environmental issues, South Africa and India can benefit from the sharing of best practice, research and experience, as well as finding areas of common interest for future collaboration and investment.

The inaugural Matla-Urja Energy Conference will take place at Wits Business School on the 28 November and will consider energy market developments, the future energy mix and efficiency initiatives, energy financing, and infrastructure.

The conference will be preceded by an Academic Conference on 27 November, the sessions of which will include the role of oil and gas in the just energy transition, energy modelling, and skills and capacity development.  Post-conference activities will include delegates visits to both Sasol and Eskom.