Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa speaking during Day 1 of the Second G20 Energy Transitions Working Group Technical Meeting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Image: Supplied
Banele Ginidza
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa has put forth a bold proposal aimed at rethinking the global approach to energy finance.
Speaking on the G20 Transition Working Group, Ramokgopa urged the Summit to consider practical frameworks for concessional financing, de-risking energy infrastructure, and unlocking transmission grids—all crucial enablers for fostering inclusive growth across the globe.
Speaking at the second day of the G20 Electricity Energy Summit in Cape Town, which focused on global energy efficiency strategies and affordability challenges, Ramokgopa said these were not abstract goals but preconditions for energy justice.
Ramokgopa said the G20 countries were the next frontier of opportunity, representing more than 85% of global GDP and nearly 80% of global emissions, which brought responsibility, not only to immediate constituencies, but to the billions of people whose fates were shaped by the decisions.
"The G20 cannot afford to be a forum in Asia or entropy. As an African country, we also speak with the confidence of a continent that is not seeking charity, but partnership," he said.
"Africa has the youngest population, the greatest solar potential, and the fastest growing demand for energy services. We are not the last frontier for development.
"We welcome partnerships that view African countries not merely as recipients of energy investments, but as co-creators of the solutions needed for a global just transition. Whether in grid investment, hydrogen development, critical minerals, or skills exchange, Africa is ready to lead."
Speaking in the context of Workers Day, Ramokgopa said the global energy transition must not come at the expense of the working people and should be taken to affirm, unequivocally, that a successful energy transition was one that did not displace workers but rather transformed their prospects.
"It must prioritize risk healing, protect livelihoods and anchor new industries that generate quality jobs. The transition must not extract from the many to enrich the few, but expand opportunity in a way that reflects the spirit of solidarity, the principles of equality and the commitment to sustainability that define our G20 presidency," he said.
"If our climate goals are to be enduring, they must be built on the foundation of social consensus."
He said workers must see themselves not as casualties of the transition, but as co-authors of a new energy future.
"As we pay tribute to the heroic and glorious struggles of workers, let us also acknowledge that this is no ordinary gathering, and we do not meet under ordinary circumstances. The world around us is changing rapidly, economically, geopolitically, and climatically. These changes are not episodic,they are structural," Ramokgopa said.
He said at the heart of this global flux was energy, who has it, how it's produced, who pays for it, and who gets left behind.
He added that there was a growing consensus that the energy transition must be a development project, first and foremost.
"It cannot simply be about decarbonizing the global economy. It must also enable nations to industrialize, create jobs, and expand the reach of human development," Ramokgopa said.
"For the Global South, the transition must mean, moving from vulnerability to resilience, from exclusion to empowerment, from energy poverty to energy sovereignty."
The Energy Transition Work Group meeting is the second of four meetings scheduled in the run up to the G20 Summit gathering in Johannesburg in November.
It was set as an in-person meetings to pave way for a late July meeting preceding the Ministerial level meetings slated for November this year.
South Africa is prioritising suggestions along energy security and affordable, reliable access; just, affordable and inclusive energy transitions; and African interconnectivity and energy pool.
The preparations for the final G20 Summit, in which South Africa will hand over the Presidency to the United States, comes as there is a rift between the two countries over priorities, particularly in relation to the so-called just energy transition.
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