Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said developed economies offering energy transition finance to African economies were using them as guinea pigs on which to perform energy experiments.

Mantashe was addressing the Africa Energy week in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon. The address comes ahead of a crucial COP27 meeting in Egypt in November, where SA is expected to present the plan for $8.5 billion in concessional loans and grants pledged at COP26 last year to help South Africa decarbonise its economy.

The address also comes after the minister’s keynote address to the Africa Oil week and the 2022 Windaba earlier this month, where he criticised developed economies for trying to determine the terms of the energy transition in African countries.

Mantashe told delegates that advanced economies were looking to impose solutions on African countries for energy even though the African continent contributed less than 5% of global emissions despite having a population of over a billion. He said the terms R8.5 billion funding, which dictated a shift away from coal power, were ill-timed for South Africa, as the country was getting billions in turnover from the coal.