Join the conversation: Will the energy on the ground at COP27 translate into implementation?
DBSA boss Patrick Dlamini says the right energy is certainly at COP27, but he hopes there is also clarity of mind on how to move forward on implementation.
Excerpts from the interview with Development Bank of South Africa CEO Patrick Dlamini
Patrick Dlamini on the energy at COP27
I find it very interesting and I've been trying to suss out myself. I think the energy is there but I wonder if there's the clarity of mind in terms of how fast we move forward, because this is about us playing our role as global citizens and global corporates with regard to the environment and the need for us to shift gears to a sustainable future, a low carbon future. We are being faced with that at the time of many challenges and on the eve of the global recession, as the economies are warning us. As we are dealing with this, there are also geopolitics that are not helping a global economic environment, and therefore it becomes very difficult. Now that we are here, we want the developed nations to support the emerging nations. How do they do that when they are faced with their own crisis? And how fast are we able to move? Are we bold enough to prioritise the issue of the environment because there is an opportunity. People want to see demonstrated examples so that they can be hopeful. Remember, they're full of hope. We really need to start looking at how to move. I'm happy that President Ramaphosa presented that energy transition investment plan yesterday.
On how President Cyril Ramaphosa's energy transition investment plan was received on the group
It was positively received. They see that South Africa is serious. They see that South Africa wants to move forward. But the people on the African continent are saying, how do we achieve this if the people of North are not meaningfully supporting us because this cannot happen on the back of loans or concessional loans, because other countries, as we speak, are limited in terms of the headroom to borrow. The question is, as countries, that we play our role the best we can in making sure that we develop our economy, because a just transition doesn't have to happen at the expense of the people on the ground. It's got to happen in such a way that it becomes an additionality but a positive and a meaningful transition to a space where there is much more inclusivity in terms of the economic participation for countries.
On positive takeaways from COP27
We are meeting quite a number of our international partners. They are extremely keen to work closely with us. We are saying to them, how can we access more project capital to make sure that we're able to do feasibility studies and advanced projects. We are talking about possibilities of guarantees, where we are able to get things to happen that would otherwise not happen. There is a willingness to say, how can we participate in the economy of South Africa? Are you guys meaningful in terms of a public private partnership so that we are able to bring our own private sector to work in conjunction with the private sector in the country to really improve things? So, there is a level of willingness. I think it's going to be up to us to make the environment attractive enough. But I'm still excited by the Minister of Finance, in the medium- term budget, saying he wants to take off certain debts from Eskom so that Eskom can have better wiggle room. We have moved at a very strong rate because we need a solution for loadshedding. It is a massive challenge that we have to address at this level.
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