South Africa received a $1 billion loan from the World Bank on Wednesday to help with its energy problem, which reached a crescendo this year with the worst power outages in the nation. The nation is now compelled to rely more on its highly polluting coal-fired power plants due to the energy crisis.
Months of planned, rolling blackouts have plagued South Africa due to inadequate power generation for its 62 million inhabitants. About 80% of the country’s electricity is produced by coal plants owned and operated by the state-run utility Eskom but they have not been able to keep up with demand because of poor management, corruption, and frequent breakdowns.
In response to South Africa’s protracted energy crisis and the nation’s objective of moving towards a just and low-carbon economy, the loan “endorses a significant and strategic response,” according to the World Bank.
South Africa is the most developed economy in Africa and the 16th-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, despite the fact that Africa is the continent most affected by climate change and contributes the least to it. According to Climate Watch, based on statistics from 2019, it ranks 45th per capita.
According to the South African government, funding for the country’s switch to cleaner energy sources will require around $80 billion over the following five years.
It has already been granted a $439.5 million loan by the World Bank to assist in transforming an abandoned power plant into a supplier of renewable energy. Although the Komati power plant was shut down last year, its tale serves as an illustration of how impoverished nations are in dire need of funding in order to transition to more environmentally friendly energy sources and assist in achieving climate change objectives.
More assistance has been requested by the World Bank for African nations dealing with climate change and other issues.
