Germany to give $810 million to help South Africa end coal use

Cooling towers at the Arnot coal-fired power station, operated by Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., in Mpumalanga, South Africa, on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The German delegation at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow on Tuesday said it will give 700 million euros (811.65 million U.S. dollars) towards helping South Africa phase out the use of coal.

Maria Flachsbarth, Germany’s parliamentary state secretary for development aid, said the aim is to mobilize a total of 8.5 billion dollars together with the World Bank and private investors to promote developing renewable energy sources in the country.

The money would be also used to expand and modernize electricity networks and help miners deal with the economic consequences of the phase-out.