Germany affirms resilience of energy transition partnerships after U.S. withdrawal
Clean Energy Wire / Reuters
The German state secretary Jochen Flasbarth has said the government regretted the U.S. withdrawal from international partnerships to support major global polluters’ socially just move away from coal, the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnerships.
“At the same time, we are convinced that the work of the energy transition partnerships can be continued successfully,” said Flasbarth. “It is now paying off that the responsibility has been distributed among so many different partners.” U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent has withdrawn the U.S. from JETP agreements with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, Reuters reported.
To push forward the climate-friendly transition in emerging nations through financial as well as technical support and capacity building, the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow in 2021 birthed the world’s first JETP. The U.S., the UK, France, Germany and the European Union had joined together and made a deal worth 8.5 billion U.S. dollars with South Africa to help the country move away from coal.
“Since their establishment, the partnerships have grown and, in the case of South Africa, have already achieved a greater volume than was agreed when they were founded in 2021, even without the USA,” Flasbarth said, adding that private capital also played a major role.
JETPs exist for South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. At the UN climate change conference COP29 in Baku last year, the German state secretary confirmed that India and donor countries had decided not to pursue plans for a transition partnership.
