Page 7 - AfrElec Week 05 2023

AfrElec INVESTMENT AfrElec

US calls for South Africa to maintain

momentum on just energy transition

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa needs to act fast if it is to main- US Treasury Secretary
tain momentum on an energy transition pro- Janet Yellen
gramme being backed by the US and other
countries, according to US Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen.
Yellen said that the US was committed to
ensuring South Africa’s transition to renewable
energy did not leave its workers behind, Reuters
reported. She appealed to philanthropists and
the private sector to step up their support after
visiting the coal-mining province of Mpuma-
langa on January 27.
Yellen was speaking to donor groups backing
the nearly $100bn project aimed at supporting extensive layoffs in a country with a history of
South Africa’s gradual phasing out of fossil fuels. femicide and domestic violence, he told Reuters.
The country is the world’s 14th biggest carbon At the meeting in Emalahleni, Yellen called
dioxide (CO2) emitter, three places ahead of the anti-corruption a “critical” priority for South
UK, an economy seven and a half times the size, Africa, adding that US officials had discussed the
according to data from the Global Carbon Atlas. issue in great detail with South African officials,
The meeting at a US-funded facility in Ema- and were looking to help Pretoria strengthen its
lahleni local municipality where women are rules and enforcement.
being trained for jobs in renewable energy was “It’s really critical to address corruption in
also attended by local and provincial officials. order to have an effective government that South
“We must demonstrate quickly that these Africans can have confidence in, and it’s a critical
coal communities, which are already struggling part of the business environment,” she was cited
with unemployment, poverty and the health by Reuters as saying.
impacts of coal mining and emissions, will not Yellen appealed to donors to extend support
be left behind in the context of an energy shift for the JETP programme as “the transition is
that benefits other regions,” she was quoted by already at hand and the needs are urgent”.
Reuters as saying. South Africa’s plan includes retraining and
Yellen was wrapping up a three-country visit reskilling with cash payments to support dis-
to Africa, with stops in Senegal and Zambia, placed workers, reported Reuters. The plan calls
aimed at deepening US economic ties with the for redevelopment of former coal mines and
continent and countering China’s long-standing power plants as clean energy production sites,
dominance of trade and lending with many Afri- and investment in roads, rail, ports and digital
It’s really critical can countries, said the news agency. infrastructure.
The Treasury Secretary commended the US,
However, South African President Cyril
to address France, Germany, the UK and the EU for back- Ramaphosa’s plan has divided the governing
corruption in ing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Plan African National Congress (ANC), said the press
(JETP) with a combined $8.5mn to accelerate agency. Union leaders allied to the party fear
order to have the shift from coal. extensive job losses in the coal belt, which they
Yellen called the funding a “substantial down doubt the renewables business will be able to fill.
an effective payment” designed to mobilise additional Yellen affirmed her country’s support for
money and expressed hope that Washington’s the programme, saying the US had earmarked
government. focus on a just energy transition would under- $1bn for it, and President Joe Biden pledged an
Janet Yellen pin donor interest in backing the nearly $100bn additional $45mn in December to demonstrate
project.
the US’ “firm” commitment to a just energy
Treasury Secretary “An energy transition that is not just will transition.
US simply not work,” she said. “Equally impor- According to the US Ambassador to South
tant, however, is the imperative to seize the new Africa, Reuben Brigety, the Treasury Secretary
opportunities that the transition will offer, keep- had a “frank” exchange of views with both Rama-
ing a worker-centred perspective in mind at all phosa and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, a
stages.” vocal defender of South Africa’s coal mines and
According to Justin Sylvester, a programme power stations, about the partnership.
officer with the Ford Foundation, donors were The parties agreed on the need to transition
looking for effective monitoring of programmes to a low-carbon economy, but raised questions
and representation of affected communities. The about how they could get there and on what
foundation was concerned about the impact of timetable, Brigety said.™

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