South Africa\u2019s minerals and energy minister Gwede Mantashe rallied behind the nation\u2019s coal producers, emphasizing that fossil fuel will still be used for decades.<\/p>\n
Mantashe, a former coal miner and union leader, told chief executive officers of mining companies that their product shouldn\u2019t be abandoned \u201cprematurely\u201d and highlighted that the industry employs nearly 90,000 workers in a nation with record-high unemployment.<\/p>\n
The pep talk clashes with plans for the country, which relies on coal to produce more than 80% of its electricity, to transition to cleaner energy sources. Mantashe criticized the companies\u2019 CEOs for not being more vocal in the campaign to support coal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is our voice in this debate, I don\u2019t hear you,\u201d the minister said. \u201cEvery time you keep quiet I absorb that pressure. It would be more helpful for the industry itself to have a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mines minister is at the centre of a battle over whether the black rock should remain part of South Africa\u2019s future energy mix as it moves toward more climate-friendly options, such as renewable energy.<\/p>\n
While richer nations have pledged $8.5 billion to South Africa to ditch its plans for new coal projects, rushing to end its dependency on the fossil fuel \u201cwill cost us dearly,\u201d Mantashe said. Still, he urged mining companies to weigh investing in clean coal technologies that may prolong the use of the fossil fuel.<\/p>\n
The government is still debating conditions for accessing the COP26 funding from richer nations and it\u2019s not yet clear how the money would be made available, the minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat money must talk to our programme and it must be finances available to fund our programme, then it will make sense,\u201d Mantashe said. \u201cThere is still an ongoing debate on how much of that is a loan, grant, concessional funding and how to access it. Until we understand that there is no acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n