{"id":208777,"date":"2021-11-17T16:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T14:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/south-africas-energy-transition-package-still-in-green-and-brown-camouflage\/"},"modified":"2021-11-17T16:12:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T14:12:13","slug":"south-africas-energy-transition-package-still-in-green-and-brown-camouflage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/south-africas-energy-transition-package-still-in-green-and-brown-camouflage\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s energy transition package: still in green and brown camouflage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s never been easy to categorise South Africa\u2019s energy policies<\/a>. While the country has been eager to excel in global climate diplomacy, being both a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference host and a Pan-African voice amplifying the call for western historical responsibilities, South Africa\u2019s domestic climate and energy policies have been less outspoken.<\/p>\n

Long-standing path dependencies, labelled as the \u201cminerals-energy complex\u201d, have resulted in a conglomerate of mining industry, national banks and the notoriously indebted energy monopolist Eskom<\/a>. Although South Africa was an early adopter of clean energy policies, only its highly credited energy auction instrument finally turned the tide, by adding more than 5GW of clean energy to the national grid<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But this move was met with reluctance. This resulted in Eskom blocking grid access<\/a> to dozens of renewable energy providers in 2018. South Africa\u2019s energy transition shows signs of progress. But due to its market-driven impetus, the country can\u2019t create green jobs in provinces such as Limpopo or Mpumalanga, where coal mines will close and put 90,000 workers<\/a> at risk. <\/p>\n

And while more than 59,000 green jobs have been created<\/a>, their healthier labour conditions aren\u2019t met by wages that equal those in the coal industry. This is why trade unions watch the transition process with less enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

The COP26 results<\/h2>\n

On the road to Glasgow, South Africa had already underscored the need<\/a> for a \u201cjust transition fund\u201d, which would tap western financial sources and pave a way out of coal. Indeed, during the first COP26 days, a just transition partnership was announced as one of the most powerful commitments of the international community. The US, Britain, the EU, France and Germany mobilised US$8.5billion (about R131 billion) in concessional loans and grants<\/a> to be channelled via multilateral development banks within the next three to five years to finance South Africa\u2019s decarbonisation. <\/p>\n

Yet at the same time the South African delegation to COP26 joined forces with India and China, demanding that one of COP26\u2019s central statements regarding decarbonisation should \u201cphase down\u201d but not \u201cphase out\u201d coal. This slight change in wording profoundly weakens the political ambitions and undermines political consensus on decarbonisation. Phasing out would demand a rapid decarbonisation of the economy, including the whole value production chain. Phasing down would opt for a much slower coal exit. <\/p>\n

In general, the finance instrument builds on the cheap pricing of clean energy<\/a> and considers coal assets as too risky. <\/p>\n

The just transition partnership with South Africa is the first of its kind. It uses an innovative instrument, the Accelerating Coal Transition facility<\/a>, which was designed by the World Bank\u2019s Climate Investment Fund. It will target energy governance, mining communities\u2019 needs and infrastructural demands. <\/p>\n

The deal so far<\/h2>\n

While the details of this particular partnership have not yet been laid open to the public, several points give an impression of its direction and aims:<\/p>\n