(Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
South Africa is seeking to alter the terms of a landmark agreement under which it promised to cut its reliance on coal in exchange for access to financing.
The government of President Cyril Ramaphosa is pushing to renegotiate a deal with Climate Investment Funds (CIF), a group tied to the World Bank, so that it won’t be required to close three coal-fired power plants in the coming years. The plants, owned and operated by Eskom, are among the country’s biggest polluters, according to government advisers.
South Africa’s government is seeking an “adjusted approach to the programme with the decommissioning date for three power stations” moved to the end of March 2030, the department overseeing the project in the president’s office told Bloomberg. The decision is motivated by “energy security concerns,” the department said, adding that South Africa is still working to reduce its emissions.
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