South Africa's green economy role players must move with speed, as there were many other countries competing to get a slice of the global green economy, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday.

The green economy played a key role in South Africa's shift to a "new growth path", with the government focusing on more labour-absorbing industries.

Preliminary results from a recently commissioned study showed that 300 000 jobs could be created in South Africa's renewable energy sector over the next ten years, of which 20 000 is achievable in the next two years, Patel said at the ‘Green Economy Summit' in Johannesburg.

These jobs would be in energy generation and in the construction, manufacturing, operation and maintenance of power plants in solar, biofuels, small hydro and pyrolysis.

In China, where the government has strongly backed the renewable energy industry, some 1,12-million jobs had already been created, and this number would increase by 100 000 jobs a year.

Patel noted that in South Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) had set aside R11,7-billion in funding in the next five years for green industries. Of this, some R8,5-billion was earmarked for renewable energy and bioethanol projects.

He reiterated that South Africa must scale up, moving from small-scale projects to large ones with broad impacts.

Patel said that the Economic Development Department was focusing on a number of issues. Firstly, it would soon be finalising the percentage target of how much renewable energy would be delivered through the renewable energy feed in tariff.

Then it would focus on speeding up the local manufacture of components for the green economy, by focusing on local skills development programmes.

It would also seek to mobilise financial resources to back the shift to the green economy, through institutions like the IDC, as well as a potential ‘green bond', and private capital markets.

Strengthening coordination between government departments, and including engagement with public enterprises such as Eskom, and building partnerships with the private sector were also on Patel's department's list of green-economy priorities.

Patel emphasised the need for adequate investment in research and development capabilities to sustain the green economy.

He noted that, in addition to renewable energy initiatives, international experience has shown that programmes directed at the built environment can have a big impact, and thus the greening of South Africa's construction industry was important.

The Minister said that the government was getting ready to take up the challenge to find economic and industrial opportunities in the global green economy, and invited the private sector and labour to join the government on this venture.

Patel emphasised that a cross-departmental effort to seize opportunities in the green economy would be undertaken.