Cyril Ramaphosa secures 'historic' COP26 green finance deal

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced that the country has secured a historic partnership with other world leaders of a R131bn highly concessional climate financing to help transition SA away from coal to cleaner forms of energy.

The world leaders include the US, UK, France and Germany.

“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,” the presidency said in a statement.

In preparation for COP26, SA submitted a revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce domestic carbon emissions within a target range of between 420 CO2-eq and 350 CO2-eq by 2030.

Ramaphosa said the highly concessional finance that will be mobilised through this partnership, will 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,” Seale said.

Ramaphosa welcomed the partnership saying climate change is an existential challenge that confronts us all, and SA is committed to playing its part in reducing global emissions.

“The partnership that we have established today is a watershed moment not only for our own just transition, but for the world as a whole. It is proof that we can take ambitious climate action while increasing our energy security, creating jobs and harnessing new opportunities for investment, with support from developed economies.”

He said at the heart of the partnership is the importance of a just transition, which includes support for workers and communities affected by the transition away from coal and enables the creation of quality green jobs.

“For the transition to be just, decarbonisation must be implemented in a manner that promotes and sustains employment, livelihoods and economic inclusion for historically marginalised communities and sectors of our society.”

A joint taskforce will be established to take forward the partnership over the coming months.

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