South Africa's $8.5 Billion Climate Plan Sees Further Delays - Bloomberg Law
South Africa’s $8.5 Billion Climate Plan Sees Further Delays
South Africa’s government will need another two to three months to complete an energy transition implementation plan, further delaying the flow of funds from an $8.5 billion climate finance agreement with some of the world’s richest countries.
More work needs to be done on how to re-skill workers from coal-dependent communities as coal-fired plants gradually close down, said Joanne Yawitch, head of the project management unit for the pact within the South African presidency.
Yawitch, who spoke at a Presidential Climate Commission event in Johannesburg on Tuesday, said a government decision that state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. would be ...
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”