RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTDS ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and groundWork have written to Absa Group Ltd to discourage the financing of proposed coal-fired independent power producers (IPPs), Thabametsi and Khanyisa. The letter argues that continuing to fund coal presents significant financial, reputational, and environmental risks, noting that other South African banks like Nedbank have already declined to finance these projects. Drawing on reports from the Institute for Energy, Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), the CER highlights a global trend of financial institutions divesting from thermal coal and warns that South Africa faces transition risks exceeding $120 billion by 2035. The document further dismisses the concept of "clean coal" as a myth and urges Absa to align its lending practices with a just transition to sustainable energy.

• Major global financial institutions are rapidly divesting from coal, with over 100 significant institutions having divested from thermal coal, including 40% of the top 40 global banks.
• By the start of 2019, more than 30 global banks had stopped project financing for coal-fired power plants and thermal coal mines worldwide without geographic exceptions.
• South Africa is estimated to face climate transition risks valued at more than $120 billion in present value terms between 2013 and 2035, with risks expected to accelerate in the mid-2020s.
• Planned investment decisions in South Africa, including the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal IPPs, could increase the country's transition risk by more than $25 billion.
• The proposed coal IPPs are estimated to be 80% more expensive than new generation from alternative sources like wind and solar, and investing in them over a least-cost-plan could cost South Africa R20 billion (over $1 billion) between 2015 and 2052.
• The concept of "clean coal" is described as a myth and a misnomer used by commercial interests to justify continued coal dependence, as no technology can neutralize all environmental, health, and climate impacts of the coal cycle.
• Absa Group Ltd has acknowledged on its own website that the pool of potential funders for coal-fired power projects is shrinking globally and that finding suitable investors for such projects is becoming increasingly difficult.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTDS ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CER-gW-Letter-to-Absa-11-4-19.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTDS ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CER-gW-Letter-to-Absa-11-4-19.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTDS ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS |date=11 April 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CER-gW-Letter-to-Absa-11-4-19.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019relevant, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTDS ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CER-gW-Letter-to-Absa-11-4-19.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }