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Eskom, the government-controlled utility, got its $3.75 billion loan on Thursday from the World Bank, mostly to finance a giant coal-fired power plant. The Obama administration, despite its unhappiness with the plant’s significant carbon emissions that will contribute to global warming, abstained rather than voting no and profoundly upsetting a regional powerhouse. The United States explicitly warned the bank in a statement that it would not actively oppose the loan because ofSouth Africa’s acute energy needs, but that the bank should not bring forward similar coal projects in the future “without a plan to ensure there is no net increase in carbon emissions.”
South Africa: World Bank to Finance Coal-Fired Plant
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