South Africa Beats Climate Goal as Blackouts Slash Emissions

  • South Africa emissions are falling, ahead of a 2025 target
  • Power plant breakdowns are reducing industrial activity

A coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. 

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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South Africa is ahead of its target for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases.

Output of the climate-warming gases from the world’s 14th-biggest emitter is already falling even though its Nationally Determined Contribution, a target adopted by the cabinet in 2021, only forecast a decline from 2025.