Deadlock in South Africa’s $8.5bn climate funding talks

Negotiations about the terms of the $8.5-billion pledged by European nations at COP26 to help South Africa phase out coal-fired power stations are running into stiff headwinds, with sources close to the talks saying South Africa may be forced to withdraw from them.

The sources said a major problem is that 80% of the proposed finance will be in the form of loans at high interest rates, which will place the country in further debt.