CORRECTED-S.Africa submits investment plan to donors pledging $8.5 bln in climate aid - sources
(Corrects date of COP27 to Nov. 6, from Oct. 31, paragraph 5)
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) - South Africa has submitted an investment plan to donors who have pledged $8.5 billion to accelerate the country's transition to renewable energy, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The funds - pledged by the European Union, Britain, France and Germany at climate talks in Glasgow last year, were to be used to kick-start South Africa's shift from polluting coal to renewable energy, and were mostly offered in the form of concessional loans.
For donors to release the funds, South Africa must demonstrate that its plan will reduce its carbon emissions by more than it was already planning to do under its existing climate commitments.
The sources said it was now up to donors to consider and remark on the plan that has been submitted to them.
A spokesman for the presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Negotiators are racing to conclude the deal before the COP27 climate talks in Egypt starting on Nov. 6, as it could serve as a model for other emerging economies seeking to wean themselves off coal.
South Africa is the world's 12th biggest carbon emitter, pumping out 430 megatonnes of CO2 in 2019, according to latest data which put it five places ahead of Britain, an economy eight times its size.
Coal fuels 80% of South Africa's power generation, making the transition of state utility Eskom from coal to renewables a priority. South Africa aims to subsequently focus on becoming a hub for green hydrogen and electric vehicle manufacturing. (Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
