SOUTH Africa has secured a commitment for R130bn in finance aimed at moving the country away from coal-fired electricity production, and boosting the electric vehicle and green hydrogen sectors, said BusinessLive.
The commitment was agreed in a political declaration finalised at COP26 in Glasgow, and is the first significant financing deal to emerge from the landmark climate conference, said BusinessLive. The governments of the US, UK, France and Germany are among those that are assisting in providing finance to South Africa.
“Through the political declaration issued today to establish this partnership, partner countries will mobilise an initial $8.5bn (R131bn) over the next three to five years through a range of instruments, including grants and concessional finance, to support the implementation of our revised NDC through a just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy,” said BusinessLive citing a statement from South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.
He said the financial resources would “accelerate investment in renewable energy and the development of new sectors such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen. This will provide a significant boost to investment and growth while ensuring Eskom can access resources to finance repurposing of coal fired power-stations due for decommissioning over the next 15 years”.
The R130bn commitment follows a letter of intention from the Climate Investment Funds to assist South Africa with grant funding of between $200m and $500m, depending on the presentation of an acceptable plan, said BusinessLive.
COP26 is seeking to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. However, not all countries have made commitments in line with these goals, the publication said.
