SA speeds up plans to reduce carbon emissions

South Africa, the world’s 12th biggest producer of greenhouse gases, has committed to improving its target for reducing its projected emissions of the pollutants by 17% in 2025.

The environment ministry said in a presentation on Tuesday that it will, after consultation, present a revised so-called Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That will propose an upper limit of 510 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025, down from a earlier target of 614 tons. The upper limit for 2030 is 440 tons.

Implementing the program will need about $8 billion a year by 2030, it said.

While South Africa produces almost all of its electricity from coal, there are plans to gradually close some of the power plants and replace them with renewable energy.

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