The president of South Africa, the largest electricity producer on the continent, which comes 80% from coal, defended this Thursday that Europe should subsidize the energy transition of his country with a compensation of 25%.
We believe that 25% would be a good subsidy that would allow us to start a transition process that is fair and with more confidence, knowing that we have partners who are serious about implementing the commitment they have made, particularly to address the aspect of loss and damage.” . said Cyril Ramaphosa.
The South African head of state, speaking at a meeting with South African journalists in London following a state visit to the UK, argued that “there must be compensation for the damage” from “rich” countries. .
“We have always said that the most industrialized countries were and have been the ones that pollute the most and those that damage the climate much more than countries with developing economies, for example, Africa is only responsible for 1% and our approach is that”, he stated.
“The polluter must pay”stressed the President of the Republic of South Africa, considered the most industrialized economy on the African continent.
Ramaphosa recalled that “the most developed economies must fulfill the commitment they made in the past”, referring to the global climate agreement signed in the French capital, Paris, in 2015, at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP). .
“The Paris COP is an example where they promised 100 billion dollars [96,6 mil milhões de euros] per year, which they never complied with and they also admit it”, he stressed.
“Now they are closing agreements for a just energy transition with several countries and our agreement was a trade agreement and, when analyzing that agreement, we found that the subsidy component of what they put on the table, as I said, amounts to 2.7% ”, referred.
The South African president announced that he would like “that part of the subsidy to be increased” and there were “discussions with one of the European countries and they are prepared to increase it to 25% of what they propose.”
In this sense, Ramaphosa also referred that the proposal of the rich countries also contemplates “loan concessions with very good and low interest rates and that would extend for a period” that the South African economy “can pay and absorb”.
South Africa, which is considered the largest electricity producer on the continent, which provides 80% of the coal, also imports 75% of the total production of the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Plant (HCB) in Mozambique, being one of the main pollutants of the planet’s atmosphere worldwide????????
The Witbank Power Station, which began operations in May 1926, was the first coal-fired power station in South Africa since the founding of Escom in 1923 (which changed its name to Eskom in 1987), according to the state utility. South African.
Source: Observadora
