South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership suffered a major setback with the withdrawal of the United States and its pledged US$57 billion but the remaining international partners are committed to keeping the deal alive.
The International Partners Group (IPG), which includes the European Union, UK, Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands, have promised to continue supporting South Africa’s transition away from coal and are exploring ways to cover the gap left by the US.
“While the withdrawal of the US is regrettable, the IPG remains fully committed to supporting South Africa to deliver its Just Energy Transition. The level of investment made to date and remaining pledges demonstrate this. Over US$2,5 billion of the IPG pledge has been spent to date. The total pledged funding to support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition also remains higher than the original pledge due to increases in pledges from the IPG and other development partners not part of the IPG. Some partners are exploring possibilities for supporting work previously carried out by the US,” the IPG and European Commission said in a joint statement.
“The political, technical and financial support from the IPG remains strong and steadfast.”
The US contribution to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition, as set out in the investment plan, was US$56 billion in grant funds and US$1 billion in commercial debt/equity from the US International Development Finance Corporation. The US pledged to provide technical assistance and support for feasibility studies and pilot projects in the renewables sector as well as equity for private sector-led projects.
