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Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan will present an US$18 billion plan to build renewable power generation in southern Africa at talks in Egypt as leaders from the continent seek to increase climate finance in the region.

Under the proposal, a bloc of 12 countries in the region would increase generation by about 8,4 gigawatts from sources such as solar and wind, Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba said in an interview. Hassan was scheduled to host a meeting of the nations’ leaders and financial institutions yesterday at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The move may help Hassan goad developed nations, who have been asking African economies to focus on renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, to back up their call with financing. 

There’s also been a trickle of funding for renewable energy projects on the continent, which made up about 1 percent of the global total of renewable deals last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. 

“It’s a very timely occasion at this COP to talk about infusing renewables” into the Southern African Power Pool, Makamba said. “You want us to transition? This is the opportunity.”

South Africa, which is the continent’s most industrialised nation and mainly depends on coal for power, is working on an US$8,5 billion climate-finance deal to transition from the dirty fuel. The government has proposed to spend 90 percent of the funding offered by wealthy nations on replacing the plants with renewable generation. — Bloomberg.