South African deputy president Paul Mashatile emphasized the importance of Africa Africa must be able to look at its own needs and set its own time frames during the transition, stating that while it acknowledges the need to reduce carbon emissions, it is also committed to economic development. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) was officially announced at the UN Cop 26 climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021, but only 2.7pc of the funding package was grant money, so South Africa called on its partners to increase the portion of grants and non-debt instruments.
Mashatile also highlighted the need for developing Africa's oil and gas resources as a component of the continent's energy transition. He said that any conversation about developing Africa's resources must come from the perspective of African nations for their own benefit. South Africa's minister of mineral resources and energy, Gwede Mantashe, also stressed the need for an African contex" to the transition. He called for a frank debate on how to ensure that Africa and its people benefit from these deposits, given the extent of energy poverty across the African continent.
Mantashe expressed concern that climate change standards are being weaponized against the least developed countries, with developed nations setting climate change standards and imposing them on developing nations. He demanded that foreign-funded NGOs be registered and made to declare their source of funding as it is done with political parties.
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