The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday said that although its exploration of ‘green industries' was at an early stage, it was "very keen" to include them in the revised Industrial Policy Action Plan, which would go before Cabinet in January.

"The DTI believes these new industries are a major opportunity, to create jobs directly and indirectly," said DTI Industrial Development division DDG Nimrod Zalk.

However, he said that there seemed to exist a high level of fragmentation in the industry and added that a "coherent roadmap" for the commercialisation of ‘green' technologies in South Africa were needed.

Addressing participants at the Concentrated Solar Power workshop at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Zalk said that he was trying to signal willingness and openness to converse on how existing incentives and institutions could be better used in this regard.

"It requires a much more coherent approach," he reiterated, noting that there seemed to be a "number of well-intentioned parties" having different discussions on funding and project development and technology solutions in the renewable energy technology arena, and so-called green industries.

He said that the DTI, as a single institution, would not be able to address these cross cutting situations, and such a workshop must lead to roadmap highlighting what was needed among public and private industries to commercialise the industry.

"The DTI can play an important role" and could tweak incentives, and industrial development funding, as well as look at areas of trade policy and appropriate setting of tariffs to help this industry get off the ground.

Zalk acknowledged that the DTI had "come to the party fairly late", but said climate change and environmental issues were becoming increasingly important in international trade.

Technical barriers to trade and tariffs related to carbon emissions were becoming apparent, which he said could be described as eco-protectionism.

Besides "threats" such as these, Zalk added that it also provides South Africa with additional stimulus, as the DTI was seeking to diversify from resources-intense manufacture, to more labour intensive industries.

If green industries were to gain traction, they must address socio-economic goals, and there should be a shift from environmental advocacy to technically and economically feasible projects, said Zalk.