CAPE TOWN, Nov 25 — South Africa will only accept US$8.5 billion in initial funding pledged by rich nations to help it shift from coal to greener energy if the terms suit national goals like debt reduction and job creation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said today.
South Africa, which is the world’s 12th biggest emitter of climate-warming gases and heavily reliant on ageing coal-fired power stations for its electricity, said the money would help it deliver on a more ambitious pledge to reduce emissions by 2030. He added that most of it would need to be in the form of grants, and that any loans would need to have concessionary rates.
Funding is also earmarked for job creation, electric vehicles and developing a new green hydrogen sector, as South Africa seeks to soften the blow to thousands of workers and communities in the coal-rich belt in the north of the country.