Cop26 in Glasgow was billed as a last chance to save the planet. The months running up to the UN climate summit in late 2021 were marked by mounting optimism.
Host prime minister, Boris Johnson, hyped it up with his usual bluster. In Spain, El País noted Johnson appeared to have undergone something of a Damascene conversion to environmentalism since the days when “as a provocative political columnist for the Daily Telegraph, he flirted with a rather loutish kind of climate change denialism”.
He left the global gathering early, compounding the bad aftertaste. It amounted to a sham; a classic scenario of moving words on saving humanity but reality being much different. Johnson was accused of “staggering hypocrisy” after he flew back to London by private jet to go to a dinner at a men-only private members’ club.
To cap it all, a cynical last-minute manoeuvre by India and China diluted the final text on action to curb fossil fuels. More recently, roll back on net zero confirms the Conservatives’ brazen lack of commitment to decarbonisation – in defiance of science.
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Yet, there was one-side agreement that lifted the spirits, giving a strong signal on what meaningful multilateral action should entail, with a wholehearted commitment to a just transition; protecting the most vulnerable. It was a deal for South Africa to receive $8.5 billion (€7.41 billion) to help end its reliance on coal and scale up renewables. Its president Cyril Ramaphosa called it a “watershed moment”. The benefactors were the EU, the UK and the US.
The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) brought the real prospect of ending the distinct brand of South African power cuts, known as “load shedding” – planned blackouts intended to ease pressure on the electricity grid – while ending a scenario where 80 per cent of its power came from coal. The problem was stifling economic growth in a country beset by shockingly high unemployment.
Rolling blackouts of up to 12 hours a day hit large parts of the country, usually with no warning. As David Pilling noted in the Financial Times, “without electricity, factories ground to a halt, meat rotted in abattoirs and gangs went on crime sprees under the cover of darkness, sometimes stealing copper cable from electricity supply lines, further exacerbating an already desperate crisis. Unless they had a generator, households were frequently plunged into darkness, with everything from home appliances to the internet abruptly shutting off”.
So, what has happened since 2021? You’ve guessed it. Under Trump 2.0, the US reneged on the deal, pulling the plug callously in March 2025. Politically, things got worse. Relations between Washington and Pretoria deteriorated as Trump accused South Africa of persecuting its white minority – including unfounded claims of genocide of white Afrikaner farmers. On top of that, the US president criticised its ties with Russia and China; imposed steep tariffs on its exports and cut aid.
South Africa has not had an ambassador in Washington since the Trump administration expelled its last one, Ebrahim Rasool. Meanwhile, American conservative activist Leo Brent Bozell III was appointed US ambassador to South Africa despite his history of opposing the anti-apartheid movement.
During his confirmation hearings before the US Senate in October, he focused heavily on Donald Trump’s many grievances against South Africa. Judging from media coverage, to say the country was in trepidation in the weeks before he took up office in February, is an understatement.
Despite all those distinctly unhelpful economic sticks applied with little appreciation of reality on the ground, South Africa seems to be doing OK. On my most recent visit, there were no power cuts and everywhere you looked was evidence of the roll-out of renewables; even if it was a little uneven. Solar was particularly strong in the Western Cape; wind energy to the fore in the Eastern Cape, where some farms have hundreds of large turbines.
Power cuts have reduced dramatically since 2024 as the government of national unity – with the ANC no longer the dominant party – has finally got a handle on Eskom, the state-owned power utility. While gross inefficiencies, lack of investment and corruption seem to be a thing of the past, it still has issues with grid weakness and high prices for consumers.
The welcome news is the South African economy is not tanking under US pressure. Its indebtedness has peaked and this year it is predicted to see significant, if modest growth – likely to be a cut above the UK’s. Ramaphosa has declared that delivering energy infrastructure will be the big test of whether his government ensures effective implementation across multiple fronts.
The tide may be turning for South Africa. Bozell even emphasised “a positive partnership” on arrival in South Africa, contrasting with previous criticisms. It deserves a break – and embracing renewables can help it earn its luck.
Kevin O’Sullivan is an environmental consultant
