South Africa will need to attract investment of $14 billion if it is to develop a substantial green hydrogen industry, the head of the government’s climate finance task team said. An initial amount of $1 billion would be needed to create an industry that could export 20 000 tons of the climate friendly fuel annually and a further $13 billion to attain a 270 000 ton target, Daniel Mminele, the task team head, said in a speech this week, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg.
” Mminele’s comments highlight South Africa’s desire to strike a balance between developed countries’ aims of seeing their funding reduce climate-warming emissions and the African nation’s need to transition its coal-dependent economy to clean energy without jeopardising jobs and income. The offer of funds in the form of concessional loans and grants from the UK, US, France, Germany and the European Union was announced at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.