Page 10 - AfrElec Week 46 2021

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SA energy minister Mantashe says he is

willing to take his coal fight to court

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African Energy Minister Gwede Man- The battle over how to increase the coun-
tashe has said that the government should go try’s energy supply comes amid another week of
ahead with its plans to build 1,500 MW of new load-shedding.
coal-fired capacity, despite South Africa’s head- Mantashe’s attitude contrasts with South
line $8.5bn climate finance deal at COP26 in African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who trav-
Glasgow. elled to Glasgow and hailed the $8.5bn climate
Mantashe said he was willing to go to court finance package as a historic partnership for
to defend the government’s coal plans. A trip to South Africa.
court would be well worth the effort. The US, the UK, France, Germany and the EU
“I know that we’re going to end up in court for are to provide $8.5bn over the next three to five
it,” he told reporters at the Africa Energy Week years through a range of instruments, including
conference in Cape Town. “[With] everything grants and concessional finance, to support the
we do you end up in court, but I think we should.” implementation of the revised NDC. The money
Mantashe is at the centre of a fight over aims to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement
whether coal should remain part of South Afri- and to reduce significantly the country’s reliance
ca’s Integrated Resources Plan. on coal power.
Before COP26, officials form the UK, US and The deal was accompanied by a political dec-
the EU arrived in South Africa in October to dis- laration, where South Africa argued that devel-
cuss concessional loans and grants to fund the oped economies must support a just transition in
country’s energy transition. Mantashe, however, developing economies.
did not meet them. The deal is the first of its kind that is trying
The construction of 1,500 MW of new coal turn such commitments into reality, and is a
capacity has been included in the Integrated model for similar forms of collaboration globally.
Resources Plan and should be retained, the min- Ahead of COP26, South Africa submitted
ister earlier told reporters. to the UNFCCC a revised NDC, which said the
That would allow for the development of country would reduce domestic CO2 emissions
cleaner coal technology that could prolong the to within a target range of 350-420mn tonnes per
use of the fuel, he said. year (tpy). ™
Mantashe said that plans to consider exploit-
ing recent gas discoveries required new funding.

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