KRIEL, SOUTH AFRICA - OCTOBER 21: A general view of coal fired power station Kriel on October 21, 2024 in Kriel, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The power plant, operated by the government owned company Eskom, is one of many coal fired stations in the province. The international community is putting pressure on South Africa to close their fleet of aging coal-fired plants, which provides most of the electricity in the country. The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, primarily funded by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, has pledged about US$8.5 billion to South Africa for phasing out these power stations but its estimated that about US$250 billion (almost R4-trillion) is needed the next decades to finance South Africas transition from coal. Hundreds of thousands of people work in the coal industry in Mpumalanga Province alone and its uncertain how they will be re-trained or get new jobs, many who has no advanced skills. There are about 130 active coal mines (collieries) in Mpumalanga and about 600 closed ones, and the pollution is some of the worst in the world according to a recent report by Greenpeace. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images) (Netwerk24)
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