Ramaphosa to address world leaders at make-or-break COP27 summit | Fin24

President Cyril Ramaphosa

President
Cyril Ramaphosa will address world leaders and co-chair a high-level roundtable
on a just energy transition during his visit to the make-or-break United Nations
climate conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Monday.

The
event, which started on Sunday, will be pivotal for South Africa to secure funding of
$8.5 billion (R154 billion) from wealthy nations to support South Africa’s transition away from coal.

READ | ‘$8.5bn may sound substantial, but
it isn’t.’ Ramaphosa says trillions needed to ditch coal

Ramaphosa
unveiled the government’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan during a special
sitting of the Presidential Climate Change Commission on Saturday.

This
plan outlines the government’s priority investments, financing interventions,
and de-carbonisation commitments as part of South Africa’s just transition.

South Africa plans to use $7.6 billion of the $8.5
billion climate-finance deal to upgrade electricity
infrastructure. The rest of the money will be used for developing green-hydrogen
projects and $200 million to support the electric-vehicle industry over the
next five years.

Ramaphosa
will deliver a national statement during the high-level segment of the summit
on Tuesday.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, and Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy will also attend the summit in Egypt.

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe has also said on multiple occasions recently that wealthy nations should not dictate the terms and pace of African nations’ energy transition, as these countries are still developing and have significantly fewer emissions than their developed counterparts.

The Presidency statement said COP27 served as an opportunity to advance African priority issues, including recognition of Africa’s needs in the energy transition, adaptation and support to developing countries, financing arrangements for loss and damage, and building on the progress made in Glasgow on the importance of Just Transitions.

READ | Climate funding: Creecy calls for debt reform, financiers to take more risk