Cyril Ramaphosa to meet King Charles III
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa continues his visit to the UK today as King Charles III hosts his first state visit as monarch.
The visit comes more than a decade after former president Jacob Zuma’s visit to the UK in 2010. A ceremonial military welcome kicked off the two-day visit, followed by a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Ramaphosa also participated in a discussion on climate change and biodiversity during a visit to the Francis Crick Institute.
At COP27, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced an increase in climate finance support for countries across the African continent. The African Development Bank’s Climate Action Window will be provided with £200 million to assist in climate adaptation strategies, among other investments in climate finance.
Discussions on the International Just Energy Transition Partnership are likely to continue as the UK assists South Africa on its decarbonization efforts. The $8.5 billion dollar partnership has been welcomed Eskom, which has supported the transition towards cleaner energy. In the short-term, much-needed funds will be injected into debt-ridden Eskom which has struggled to manage frequent power outages this year. Although South Africa’s energy crisis will remain a problem in the medium term, the Energy Transition partnership is expected to prevent 1-1.5 gigatons of emissions over the next 20 years.
