South Africa's R163 Billion Climate Pact Anticipated to Materialize by COP28

South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy recently voiced her expectations to conclude the implementation strategy for the much-anticipated Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), an R163.23 billion ($8.5 billion) climate agreement with several of the globe's wealthiest nations, by the start of the COP28 summit on 30th November.

The landmark pact, which aims to support coal-reliant South Africa in its conversion to cleaner energy sources, has been stalled due to disputes between proponents of the plan and opposition from politicians allied to the coal industry and labour unions amid job loss concerns. Currently, coal accounts for above 80% of South Africa's power generation.

Initially projected during the Glasgow COP26 assembly last year, the majority of the funding for the agreement can only be channeled after the creation and finalization of an implementation framework led by the South African government.

Pioneering in its concept, the agreement between South Africa, the US, the UK, Germany, France and the European Union has led to similar discussions between the Netherlands, Denmark, and the JETP, as reported by Bloomberg.

While confirming their involvement in the negotiations, Denmark’s environment minister, Dan Jorgensen, refrained from further comments. This approach is also being considered for partnerships with Vietnam, Indonesia and Senegal.

Power outages throughout South Africa have stalled the plan, with the government reiterating to its international counterparts that energy stability is of utmost importance.

"We want to finalize matters around the implementation plan before COP28,” expressed Creecy at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.