Dirty Coal Business Continues to Flourish in South Africa

Coal-burning operations accelerate climate change, but this fact doesn't stop South Africa from obtaining profit at the environment's expense. The host of the climate summit is actually one of the most important sources of pollution.

Currently, 90% of its entire energy production depends on coal, while the renewables are a much less exploited sector, providing only 1% of the power needed by South Africans, Greenpeace reports.

The ongoing negotiations try to establish an international agreement aiming to curb the level of greenhouse gas emission. The plan sounds good on paper, but it seems the African government is far from showing an environmental promise of its own.

Eskom is the main state-owned enterprise pulling the strings in this industry. As officials try to find ways of raising air quality, this major player carries on with the construction of the largest coal-burning power plant in the world.

Instead of guiding Africa to the path of a sustainable future, the company succeeds in magnifying an already alarming problem for the entire continent.

A recent study indicates South Africa already has a worrying ecological footprint, since it represents the 12th bigger CO2 emitter all across the Globe, and the most significant one in Africa. Kusile coal power plant, once fully functional, will only make things worse.

Greenpeace officials think that up-to-date actions of such powerful corporations empower the dirty coal line of business, while minimizing the potential of renewables, in an unfair competition.

“Globally they spend the equivalent of the GDP of entire nations, to block progress on climate legislation, and ensure that fossil fuel subsidies continue to give unfair advantages to dirty energy, above the safe, clean renewable energy future the public demands,” Greenpeace officials reveal.

It seems possible to abandon Kusile and provide up to 50% of the energy South Africa demands by 2030 only by encouraging the expansion of alternative, clean sources of power.

Such a strategy would diminish the overwhelming influence of climate change, create new jobs and improve the lives of approximately 10 million people.