As South Africa's first-ever green economy summit kicked off in Sandton on Tuesday, Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) chief director of air quality management and climate change Peter Lukey called for participants to honestly discuss the barriers to the progress of the renewable energy industry in South Africa.

He said that government had worked with industry in removing hurdles that the sector called for, and yet the stated potential of the clean technology sector had not been reached.

Lukey noted that there was demand from the sector for government to set renewable energy targets, which it did, and which were still "nowhere near" being met.

Industry also argued that greater political will was required, which the government showed, and yet results were still not achieved.

He also said that the industry had called for a renewable energy feed in tariff, which the National Energy Regulator of South Africa had put in place, but that the sector was also still moving slowly in that regard.

"We need to know for a fact what the barriers are. Not just rumours. So, if Eskom is the problem, we need to know that for a fact," he said, and suggested that a study into what the real barriers were, and how to remove them, be conducted.

He encouraged stakeholders to engage with government.

Department of Energy chief director for clean and renewable energy Mokgadi Mathekgana reiterated that while regulation, legislation, policies and strategies have proven to be the main driver, they were not effective on their own, and that industry in South Africa needed to strengthen collaboration on best practices with those already advanced in these clean technology sectors.

DEA climate and energy special adviser Mark Gordon noted that globally, the clean technology and environmental services sectors had grown 16 times since 2008.

Significant investment and job creation has taken place in the sector worldwide, and while South Africa showed some progress on solar water heating and wind energy, it was felt that the country was missing out on opportunities in this sector.

The government's employment cluster and economic departments were involved in the summit, which would be held over three days and be led by the DEA. Also involved, were the Departments of Science and Technology, Public Works, Trade and Industry, Mineral Resources and Economic Development.

President Jacob Zuma would also address delegates at the summit.

The summit aimed at investigating how best South Africa could deliver job creation and economic development, while harnessing its resources optimally.