South Africa is risking a $9.3 billion climate finance pact by delaying the closing of a number of coal-fired power plants, a panel appointed by the country’s environment minister said.
The worst power cuts on record last year prompted Eskom, the state power utility, to delay shutting down the facilities. Eskom has said it has decided to postpone the decommissioning of three power plants — Grootvlei, Hendrina and Camden — until 2030. The JETP partner nations have been understanding of the energy security concerns but a misalignment with the goal of rapid decarbonization to the lower level of an emissions target range the government submitted to the United Nations could risk this finance, the National Environmental Consultative and Advisory Forum said in its report. They are unlikely to tolerate a significant reversal of the plans, according to the report.
The panel expressed concern about Eskom’s plans to keep the plants open for longer than initially planned, saying they emit the most greenhouse gases per unit of power produced of any of Eskom’s 14 facilities.