South Africa needs to spend $250 bn over 3 decades to transition from coal

Coal accounts for more than 5% of South Africa's gross domestic product and the coal industry employs 125,000 people, each with between three and 10 dependents

South Africa, the world’s 13th-biggest source of greenhouse gases, will need to spend $250 billion over the next three decades closing down its coal-fired power plants and replacing them with green energy, according to a study. 

In addition to closing down the country’s coal-fired plants and building wind and solar power plants, money will need to be spent compensating coal-dependent communities whose livelihoods are threatened by the change, The Blended Finance Taskforce and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University said. Most of the money will need to come from the private sector, according to the study. 

The estimate