When you grew up "in the middle of the coal mines" and became Minister of Ecology, there are sometimes announcements that resonate more intimately than others.
So, this Tuesday afternoon, when signing a partnership agreement between France and South Africa at COP26 in Glasgow (Scotland) to help it get out of its dependence on coal, Barbara Pompili obviously had a thought for the mining area of his childhood.
South Africa mainly consumes hard coal to produce its electricity and is the twelfth largest emitter of greenhouse gases (and the first in Africa).
France, the United States, Germany, Great Britain and the European Union pledged on Tuesday to support its efforts to put an end to fossil fuels and to launch into renewables.
Out of a total envelope of 8.5 billion, France alone will put 1 billion on the table.
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This agreement took months of preparation and Barbara Pompili visited South Africa a fortnight ago to ensure that the local authorities did not back down.
“The country had just announced that it had raised its ambitions in ecological matters, but when I met my counterpart, Barbara Creecy, I felt that she was a little hesitant because they are now 90% dependent on coal. », Confides the French minister.
"This one-on-one unblocked things"
To convince her interlocutor, Barbara Pompili then evokes… her childhood. “I had a long interview with her during which I explained to her that I had lived in the mining area in France and that I was well aware of the importance of anticipating with the inhabitants and employees after -charcoal, to help them socially and economically to develop other sectors ”. "This tête-à-tête has unblocked things," says the diplomatic adviser to the Minister of Ecology Kevin Magron.
Concretely, France will financially and technically help South Africa to develop renewable energies, invest in electric cars and hydrogen.
"When we know that this deal will save hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2, we can estimate that it is a very profitable agreement from a climate point of view," slips an adviser to the minister.
While France has itself pledged to close its coal-fired electricity production centers, the agreement signed with South Africa provides for the eventual closure of nine coal-fired power stations in the country.