The government of President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing to renegotiate a deal with Climate Investment Funds (CIF), a group tied to the World Bank, so that it won't be required to close three coal-fired power plants in the coming years. The plants, owned and operated by Eskom, are among the country's biggest polluters, according to government advisers.
South Africa's government is seeking an "adjusted approach to the programme with the decommissioning date for three power stations" moved to the end of March 2030, the department overseeing the project in the president's office said. The decision is motivated by "energy security concerns", the department said, adding that South Africa is still working to reduce its emissions.
The development has the potential to affect a total of roughly US$2.6-billion (R48-billion) in financing from multilateral development banks and other sources, the first tranche of which would be a $500-million disbursement from CIF's Accelerating Coal Transition programme. The funds, which are tied to the country's commitment to weaning itself off the world's dirtiest fossil fuel, are part of a larger $9.3-billion climate pact.
The failure of a G20 nation to live up to its commitments around coal power would represent a blow to a $40-billion programme known as the Just Energy Transition Partnership , under which South Africa's agreement was struck. As the first JETP nation, South Africa's retreat from the original terms of its agreement would raise questions around the programme's credibility.
The details of specific units and specific stations are "the subject of rigorous discussions" both internally and with key external stakeholders, a spokesman for Eskom said, without elaborating.
