Is the global energy strategy of rich nations, “let them eat cake”? Preaching “abandon coal and embrace renewables” is hypocritical and out of touch with reality. It dismisses the challenges faced by poorer nations, where energy poverty is a life-and-death issue.
If we’re all to have a slice of the energy cake, we need a new, affordable recipe — with abated coal as the key ingredient.
Despite the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stating seven years ago that there is no near-term 100% credible renewables scenario, trillions of dollars have been spent chasing solutions that fall short of replacing reliable, affordable baseload power.
Now, reality is biting hard. Energy poverty isn’t just hitting the poorest nations — it’s crippling the vulnerable in wealthy ones too. In Europe, The Economist found that 68,000 lives could have been saved in 2022/2023 if electricity prices had stayed at 2020 levels. By 2024, EU electricity prices were still 70% higher than 2020, putting tens of thousands more at risk.
The lesson is clear: ideology doesn’t power homes, save lives, or deliver emissions reduction. Pragmatism does.
While climate alarmism dominates headlines, the new US administration declared a national energy emergency on day one, confronting the (inconvenient) truth: that every citizen deserves reliable, affordable energy, without sacrificing security for climate ideals.
Even Germany’s economy minister Robert Habeck, a country that championed abandoning coal, admitted a 2030 coal phase-out is not feasible without sufficient backup capacity, stating, “energy supply security will always be the absolute priority”.
Of course it is!
The solution lies in embracing all abatement solutions — not just renewables or carbon capture and storage, but a full spectrum of approaches and technologies. It means accepting coal’s continued and evolving role and investing in its abated transformation to meet future demands.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Davos remarks are timely. His call for collaboration, technological innovation, and the strategic use of natural resources should serve as a rallying cry for world leaders, as he declared that no-one and no country should be left behind — a message I’ve long championed.
South Africa’s G20 presidency is a real opportunity to shift the debate from climate emergency to energy reality. It can demonstrate that by responsibly leveraging its vast coal reserves, it can address poverty, reduce inequality and drive sustainable development.
With coal mining at the heart of its growth, South Africa can be the role model for a more balanced debate, empowering African nations to choose their unique energy mix to drive economic progress and prosperity
How? Through FutureCoal’s sustainable coal stewardship (SCS) road map.
The SCS road map explores coal’s economic and environmental value. It focuses on maximising operational efficiency, emissions reduction, responsible waste management and class-leading technology and innovation while transforming coal into high-value products such as hydrogen, agrichemicals and critical minerals.
This isn’t just theory — China, India and the US are already on the SCS path.
China is turning coal into hydrogen and ethanol, cutting over-dependency on imports. India is scaling up coal gasification to produce synthetic natural gas and chemicals — an area in which South Africa has years of expertise. In the US, waste coal ash holds 11Mt of critical minerals valued at $8.4bn (R156.84bn), eight times the nation's rare earth reserves.
Innovation drives growth, it strengthens energy security and reduces environmental impacts.
With coal mining at the heart of its growth, South Africa can be the role model for a more balanced debate, empowering African nations to choose their unique energy mix to drive economic progress and prosperity.
This year at Mining Indaba I will call on the finance, investment and insurance sectors to rethink what “responsible investing” really means: is it responsible or ethical to back energy policies that leave countries poorer and more vulnerable?
The SCS road map is ready for action, not more ideological debate. It demands bold, visionary leadership and collaboration across all sectors.
Let’s launch a global “sustainable” bake off! No single energy recipe has to win. Now that’s got to be a show worth watching.
• Manook is CEO of FutureCoal, a global alliance for sustainable coal use
For opinion and analysis consideration, e-mail Opinions@timeslive.co.za
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