(CU)_Coal is considered to be one of the most polluting fossil fuels and therefore phasing it out is considered to be critical in achieving the primary goal of the Paris Agreement, limit global warming to 1.5°C. Accordingly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the most developed economies to stop burning coal by 2030 and to also assist poorer nations in achieving this goal.
Earlier this month, a report published by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) revealed that Sandton-based Eskom is now the planet’s largest sulphur dioxide in emitter. According to the non-profit think tank, South Africa’s electricity public utility has now surpassed the power sectors of China, as well as the United States and the European Union, as the producer of the toxic gas in the world.
Against such a background, the European Union, together with the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, is set to launch a project with South Africa at this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP), with the aim of accelerating the country’s exit from coal.
“The idea is that the countries support South Africa to phase out of coal faster, and to go earlier and faster into developing renewables,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (28 October). “We are still working on that but I am confident that we are going to launch this new proposal and then this partnership could become a template on how to support just transitions around the globe, with sponsoring countries and countries that have to move on faster in the just transition.”
Nearly 90 per cent of the electicity needs of the African nation are met by coal-fuelled plants. Accordingly, the country’s partnership with the western allies will focus on a just energy transition, by providing support to workers and regions in the country who will be affected by an exit from coal.
