The Hendrina coal-powered power station, operated by Eskom, in Middelburg.Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) has recommended establishing a body to guide investment in the energy transition and raise more money to help wean itself off coal.
The commission said that the office within the presidency that’s drawn up an investment plan for US$9.3bil pledged for the transition by some of the world’s richest nations should also help prepare projects and raise funds.
It should work with the the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corp and National Empowerment Fund to bolster their climate funding capabilities, the commission said.
“The PCC is proposing the creation of a Just Transition Financing Mechanism (JTFM),” the commission said in the 54-page report it sent to Bloomberg News ahead of its official release yesterday. “The JTFM will raise and channel funds towards the just transition” and support the development and implementation of projects, it said.
The recommendations come amid frustration at the slow pace of the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership that South Africa secured in 2021 with the United States, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union. — Bloomberg
