South African President Ramaphosa Unveils Just Energy Transition Investment Plan at COP27

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, one of the world’s worst polluters due to its reliance on coal, criticized foreign donors on Tuesday, November 8th, for making it harder for developing countries to get funding to combat climate change.

Ramaphosa stated at the UN COP27 climate meeting that the majority of the world’s population is “out of reach of support from multilateral organizations due to financing practices that are risk-averse and carry onerous prices as well as conditionals.”

Speaking to the group in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, he stated, “Funding institutions need to transform…the way in which they fund projects that will enable us to develop with regard to climate change.”

In order to stop or halt the current global warming trends by 2030, developing nations and rising economies will require investments well over the $2 trillion mark yearly, according to an UN-backed assessment issued Tuesday.

In his speech, Ramaphosa stated that “we need a clear roadmap to deliver on the Glasgow decision to double adaptation financing by 2025.”

He urged wealthy nations to keep their word “because breaking these pledges weakens trust and faith in the process.”

Furthermore, President Ramaphosa unveiled “The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan” for South Africa at COP27.

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This plan describes the scope of the situation and the financial commitments necessary to meet our decarbonization commitments. The plan encourages sustainable development and makes sure that employees in the affected sectors and communities have a just transition, preventing layoffs of workers in the current coal businesses.

Given that these three issues are interrelated, the investment plan gives the nation a roadmap for how to approach them.

According to Ramaphosa, the investment plan aims to address the concerns that climate change poses for the entire world while also generating employment and promoting more rapid and inclusive economic growth.

According to the Investment Plan, South Africa will need almost R1.5 trillion over the following five years to enable a just transition and accomplish the challenging goals outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution.

The summit was also given assurances by President Ramaphosa that South Africa, which produces approximately 80% of its electricity from coal, was on track to retire a number of its outdated coal-fired power facilities in the following eight years.

South Africa received $497 million from the World Bank last week to decommission one of its biggest coal-fired power plants and promote renewable energy.

According to the World Bank, South Africa will need at least $500 billion in order to become carbon neutral by 2050.