Kumi Naidoo at COP26: Will Rich Countries Deliver Pledged Billions for South Africa to Get Off Coal?

Democracy Now!Nov 3, 2021
On day three of the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, we look at the fight against Big Coal, starting with leading South African climate activist Kumi Naidoo. South Africa is one of the world’s largest coal producers, and the United States has joined the European Union and other wealthy nations to announce a new deal to provide $8.5 billion to the country to help it decommission its coal plants and invest in renewable energy. “Let’s see if the money actually flows and if those countries actually follow up with that commitment,” says Naidoo, global ambassador for Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity and the former head of Amnesty International and Greenpeace. He says the deal puts pressure on the South African government to “ensure a just transition and make the right investments in wind, solar and other clean energy technologies.”