Link to article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-11-09-sa-will-not-sign-cop26-parallel-pledge-to-move-away-from-coal-says-environment-minister-creecy/
On Tuesday, November 9, The Environmental Minister of South Africa, Barbara Creecy, announced that South Africa would not be participating in the pledge to end coal financing that was created during the COP26 summit. The document, which has been signed by 40 countries and institutions, pledges to have coal financing end for developed countries in the 2030s, and for underdeveloped countries in the 2040s. Minister Creecy cited a lack of formal negotiation (the pledge was concluded outside of the regular discussions of COP26), as well as a fear of stranded assets when it comes to the development of coal. However, Creecy did advocate for a transition away from coal to other fossil fuels such as oil and gas, a goal also said by the president of COP26, Alok Sharma.
From my perspective, Creecy is doing this because of the reliance South Africa has on coal. While she is advocating for a move away from fossil fuels, claiming to have net-zero emissions by 2050, Creecy is trying to let South Africa use coal, seeing as 80% of the country relies on it. Instead of domestic changes, Creecy is advocating for foreign investments that can help the country such as the over 100 billion dollar pledge to South Africa, as well as her requesting for South Africa to be recognized as a special needs and circumstances region.
This relates to international relations through the collective goods problem. The entirety of COP26 is dealing with countries compromising their national interests in order to stop or at least slow down the global issue of climate change. The solution these countries are using is reciprocity, and as talked about in class, reciprocity can fail when other countries refuse to cooperate or ask for too much in return.