Page 16 - AfrElec Week 44 2021

AfrElec CLIMATE CHANGE AfrElec

South Africa will need money to meet

its climate targets and go green

KENYA SOUTH Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has 420 megatons of CO2 equivalent, is compatible
iterated that the climate talks at COP26 must with restricting global warming to less than 2°C.
ensure a just transition that leaves no one behind, In comparison, the bottom of the range (350
and that South Africa would need financial help megatons) is consistent with the Paris Accord
in meeting its ambitious pledges to curb climate goal of limiting warming to less than 1.5°C, he
change. said.
South Africa is committed to a move to green GIVEN that South Africa’s total emissions are
energy but will be heavily dependent on funding currently around 500 megatons of CO2 equiv-
from other countries to reduce its emissions tar- alent, this target will require a significant reduc-
gets adequately. tion in fossil fuel use, Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa’s comment came as this year’s UN “Where we arrive in this range depends on
climate talks got underway in Glasgow on Octo- the support we get. South Africa’s ambitions
ber 31. Most world leaders who spoke on Mon- cannot be achieved without the more developed
day, November 1, acknowledged the urgency economies meeting promises they have made to
of the problem of climate change, warning that provide financial assistance to developing econ-
urgent action is needed. Many of the leaders’ omies in their energy transition,” he said.
speeches emphasised that the world needed to “This help must come in the form of grants,
do more and give better support to vulnerable loans at concessional rates and private invest-
and poor nations to green their economies in ment from international and local pools of
order to meet their emission targets. finance. We are encouraged by the commitment
Ramaphosa wrote, in a column in the Finan- that many of our international partners have
cial Times, that South Africa had big plans for its shown to support this transition and to develop
journey to net zero but needed assistance from models of collaboration that could be applied in
the nations responsible for climate change. Sci- other countries.”
entists say net zero must be achieved by 2050 to Ramaphosa said that this was not about char-
avoid a climate catastrophe, and most countries ity but fairness and mutual benefit.
have agreed to this. Ramaphosa’s government “Countries with developed economies carry
had set a target range for net-zero carbon emis- the greatest responsibility for climate change
sions by 2050, in line with the best pledges at the because they have historically been the biggest
climate conference in Glasgow. polluters. Developing economies are the worst
South Africa’s president noted how the coun- affected.
try’s abundant natural resources can be har- “Beyond the matter of support for a fair tran-
nessed to build a new economy in such areas as sition, the truth is that there will be no averting
renewable energy and green hydrogen. the global climate crisis if the path to net-zero
Ramaphosa quoted figures recently approved does not include developing economies. At the
by his country’s government as its Nationally COP26 summit, we have a window of opportu-
Determined Contribution, specifying a range of nity to secure a just transition for all countries
emissions by South Africa compatible with slow- and to safeguard the future of our planet.”™
ing down climate change. The top of this range,

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