SA submits plan to climate aid donors to get them to deliver

SA has submitted an investment plan to donors who have pledged $8.5bn to accelerate the country’s transition to renewable energy, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The funds — pledged by the EU, Britain, France and Germany at climate talks in Glasgow in 2021 — were to be used to boost SA’s shift from polluting coal to renewable energy, and were mostly offered in the form of concessional loans.

For donors to release the funds, SA must demonstrate that its plan will reduce its carbon emissions by more than it was already planning to do under its existing climate commitments.

The sources said it was now up to donors to consider and remark on the plan that has been submitted to them.

A spokesperson for the presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Negotiators are racing to conclude the deal before the COP27 climate talks in Egypt starting on November 6, as it could serve as a model for other emerging economies seeking to wean themselves off coal.

SA is the world’s twelfth biggest carbon emitter, pumping out 430 megatonnes of CO₂ in 2019, according to latest data which put it five places ahead of Britain, an economy eight times its size.

Coal fuels 80% of SA’s power generation, making the transition of Eskom from coal to renewables a priority. SA aims to subsequently focus on becoming a hub for green hydrogen and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Reuters