g20-scorecard-south-africa-39d51d6821e805be.pdf

This fact sheet by the International Institute for Sustainable Development evaluates South Africa's government support for fossil fuels, ranking it as the second-worst performer among G20 non-OECD member countries due to poor transparency and continued backing of coal-based power.

• South Africa's total government support for fossil fuels averaged USD 10.9 billion between 2017 and 2019. This support is distributed across direct transfers (USD 1.7 billion), tax expenditure (USD 1.8 billion), induced transfers (USD 4.9 billion), public finance (USD 235 million), and state-owned enterprise investment (USD 2.3 billion).
• The country provides significant support for fossil fuel-based power, totaling USD 5.7 billion annually, primarily through a coal-based electricity system. This includes USD 68 million specifically for water transportation projects to supply water to the Medupi and Matimba power stations.
• Progress in reducing fossil fuel support is rated as poor, with a 14% increase in total government support relative to the 2014–2016 average. This rise is largely driven by a 79% increase in price support for fossil fuel-based power and a 13% increase in public finance to USD 235 million via the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), and Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC).
• Significant financial support remains unaccounted for in the data, including loan guarantees on USD 20 billion of debt and government bailouts for the state-owned utility Eskom, which totaled USD 2.8 billion in 2019–2020 alone. Additionally, the 2019 carbon tax includes exemptions for major emitters, such as a 90% exemption for the coal-to-liquid company Sasol and 60% exemptions for other major emitters.
• South Africa is characterized by a lack of transparency, as it does not regularly quantify or report government support for fossil fuels and has not undergone a peer review. Public finance institutions and state-owned enterprises do not provide comprehensive transaction-level reporting on investments.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). g20-scorecard-south-africa-39d51d6821e805be.pdf. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-south-africa.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. g20-scorecard-south-africa-39d51d6821e805be.pdf. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-south-africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=g20-scorecard-south-africa-39d51d6821e805be.pdf |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-south-africa.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndg20scorecardsouthafrica39d51d6821e805bepdf, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{g20-scorecard-south-africa-39d51d6821e805be.pdf}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-south-africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }