THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S ROLE IN THE FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) issued a statement to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) expressing alarm over the bank's role in financing the proposed Thabametsi coal-fired power plant. The CER argues that such financing contradicts the DBSA's own sustainability commitments, ignores a landmark court ruling regarding climate change impacts, and exposes the bank to the risk of stranded assets.

• A March 2017 ruling by the North Gauteng High Court in the case of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA) against the Minister of Environmental Affairs, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd suspended the project's environmental authorisation. The court found that the authorisation was granted without properly researching the climate change impacts for the country and the specific area, noting that the plant would emit substantial greenhouse gases in an ecologically vulnerable area for 40 years.
• A climate change impact assessment for the Thabametsi project indicates that the plant would be one of South Africa's highest greenhouse gas emitters, with an emission intensity approximately 60% higher than the new Medupi and Kusile coal plants. Additionally, the assessment identifies water availability as a high risk due to climate change's likely effect on precipitation levels, which threatens the project's long-term feasibility in the Mokolo catchment.
• The CER asserts that the Thabametsi project faces a significant risk of becoming a stranded asset. While the plant is scheduled for commissioning in 2021 with a 40-year lifespan, South Africa's Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement targets greenhouse gas emissions to peak between 2020-2025 and decline from 2035, necessitating a rapid shift away from new coal-fired power plants.
• The CER argues that the DBSA's financing of the Thabametsi project contradicts its own stated objectives and international commitments. These include the DBSA's role in supporting South Africa's transition to a low-carbon economy, its mandate under the Development Bank of Southern Africa Act to fund initiatives that minimize environmental impacts, and its status as an accredited United Nations Green Climate Fund entity.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S ROLE IN THE FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/170906-CER-to-DBSA-Thabametsi.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S ROLE IN THE FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/170906-CER-to-DBSA-Thabametsi.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S ROLE IN THE FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT |date=6 September 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/170906-CER-to-DBSA-Thabametsi.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017development, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{THE DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S ROLE IN THE FINANCING OF THE PROPOSED THABAMETSI COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/170906-CER-to-DBSA-Thabametsi.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }