South Africa’s cabinet has approved an investment plan for an $8.5 billion package to accelerate the country’s transition away from coal and towards clean energy.In a short statement, cabinet said the plan “outlines the investments required to achieve the decarbonisation commitments made by the government of South Africa while promoting sustainable development, and ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities”.The plan, expected to be published at next month’s Cop27 climate summit, follows nearly a year of negotiations between the governments of South Africa and the UK, EU, US, France and Germany, which are contributing funds.International finance experts have questioned whether package offers the country better terms than it can already access on local and international markets.It is expected to cover the closure and repurposing of coal-fired power plants by state utility Eskom, expansion of the transmission network and social protection and retraining for workers who lose their jobs."