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In global climate talks for years, developing countries have said they need more financial aid from rich countries to accelerate their shift away from fossil fuels.

Now the world is about to go through a big test of how this can work in practice.

At the Glasgow climate summit on Tuesday, South Africa announced It said it has received $8.5 billion in financing commitments from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union over the next five years to help install cleaner energy, accelerate the country’s shift away from coal power and mitigate the blow to workers. may be affected by the transition.

“This is very important,” said Jesse Burton, an energy policy researcher and senior partner at the University of Cape Town and E3G, a research group focused on climate change. “It is an important test of whether rich nations can help developing countries begin a just transition from coal.”

South Africa, the world’s 15th largest emitter, still relies overwhelmingly on coal, which provides 87 percent of the country’s electricity. while the country He promised To reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2030 as part of global efforts to combat climate change, it faces enormous hurdles in doing so.

South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom is already drowning More than $27 billion in debt, partly due to investments in coal plants, and the utility company has struggled to provide reliable energy, often resorting to intermittent cuts to meet demand.

For South Africa to meet its most ambitious climate goals by 2030, the country will likely need to accelerate the retirement of existing coal plants as it builds massive amounts of renewable power generation and transmission lines to meet growing demand, analysts said.

Making the task even more difficult, the country’s fragile economy remains dependent on its coal business. more than 120,000 people work in power plants and mines. Past debates about when and how to step away from coal have been politically controversial.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that $8.5 billion in loans and grants committed by rich countries could help the country complete this transition by accelerating renewable energy investments while ensuring Eskom has access to resources to reuse old coal stations planned for retirement. . the next 15 years.

The country will also explore initiatives to create new jobs for former coal miners.

“This is proof that we can take ambitious climate action while enhancing our energy security, creating jobs and taking advantage of new investment opportunities, with the support of advanced economies,” Ramaphosa said.

Still, there are many questions about how the partnership will work in practice. Details on how much new clean energy will be built and how much coal will be phased out are still emerging. There are also questions about whether donor countries will meet their commitments, whether there will be transparency about how funds are used, and whether they can benefit local communities, analysts said.