President Biden has come under fire this week after he pledged to send taxpayer money to help South Africa go green.
During remarks at the US-Africa Business Forum, the president said the funds would help replace coal-fired plants with renewable energy in South Africa and bring clean hydrogen to the region.
“Today’s announcements join a portfolio of global investment and infrastructure partnership projects already underway in Africa, including the mobilization of $8 billion in public and private funding to help South Africa replace coal power plants with renewable energy sources and develop cutting-edge energy solutions such as hydrogen; a $2 billion deal to build solar energy projects in Angola; $600 million in high-speed telecommunications cables that will connect Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt and the Horn of Africa and help bring high-speed internet connectivity to countries along the way,” he stated about the effort by the US, UK, France, Germany, and the European Union to transition South Africa off coal.
Biden pledges U.S. taxpayers will pay South Africa $8 billion to shut down their coal power plants pic.twitter.com/p030ccAjTV
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 14, 2022
South Africa, which is the world’s 12th largest emitter of greenhouse gases and relies heavily on old coal-fired power plants for its electricity, said the money will help it meet a more ambitious pledge to cut emissions by 2030. Biden announced US involvement in the project at a joint event at COP26 with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who discussed it for the first time last week.
You said the US would provide funding to scale up global efforts to achieve net zero emissions “by shutting down South Africa’s coal-fired plants ahead of schedule and investing in clean alternatives … for the people of South Africa”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the deal marked a “defining moment” for South Africa and the world, while von der Leyen said the “partnership for a just energy transition” could provide a model for working with other countries. […]
Biden did not specify Washington’s financial contribution but stressed his commitment to fulfilling the promises made in June by the advanced economies of the Group of Seven to accelerate the transition from coal in developing countries. (Reuters)
