Falling prey to politics

A plan meant to be a green blueprint for the world is turning into a cautionary tale [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( An $8.5 billion energy pact meant to serve as a prototype of how to transition developing countries away from coal is flailing. When it was announced 18 months ago, the Just Energy Transition Partnership between South Africa and some of the world’s richest countries outlined a plan to accelerate the decommissioning of coal-fired plants in a country that uses the dirtiest fossil fuel to provide more than 80% of its electricity. Key Reading: - [The Big Plan to Help Developing Nations Go Green Is Foundering]( - [Biden Plans to Slash Planet-Warming Pollution from Power Plants]( - [World Bank Puts $1 Trillion Tag on EM Nations’ Green-Energy Goal]( - [Vietnam Seals $15.5 Billion Deal with Rich Nations to Exit Coal]( - [Biden, Jokowi Unveil $20 Billion Deal to End Coal in Indonesia]( Fast forward and its leaders are falling over each other to ensure those plants stay open for longer. While that jeopardizes the billions in grants, loans and debt guarantees that the US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union pledged, for South Africa’s ruling party it’s a political necessity. The African National Congress will face an election next year at a time when the national power utility is subjecting citizens to blackouts of more than 10 hours a day and the party’s political support is already at a record low. Funding partners say they will take a pragmatic approach to delayed closures, yet there is only so much erosion of the initial plan that can take place before it’s considered a failure. With Indonesia and Vietnam pursuing similar programs, South Africa’s experience shows that money alone can’t trigger a shift to green power when fossil fuels are deeply entrenched in economics and politics. The green energy pact was meant to serve as a blueprint for the world. Instead it’s turning out to be a cautionary tale. — [Antony SguazzinÂ]( The Sasol plant in Secunda, South Africa, uses coal to make motor fuels. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up]( for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter delivered weekdays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Tempers flared at the United Nations Security Council yesterday when Secretary General Antonio Guterres confronted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and [denounced Moscow’s invasion]( of Ukraine as a violation of the UN Charter and international law. Lavrov, who is leading Security Council sessions this week as part of Russia’s month-long rotating presidency, then launched into a tirade against the US and its allies. - Russia sees no progress toward meeting its [demands]( regarding the Black Sea grain initiative, Lavrov said. Moscow has threatened to pull out of the deal that the UN says is vital to global food supplies. An uneasy calm descended on Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, today after the US announced the African nation’s two warring factions had backed a three-day [cease-fire](. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces agreed to halt fighting after “intense negotiation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. With China’s economic recovery well on track, the Communist Party’s Politburo, headed by President Xi Jinping, will likely turn its [policy focus]( to boosting business confidence, increasing jobs and strengthening the property market without adding extra stimulus. Economists will watch a meeting that’s likely to happen this week for signals around monetary and fiscal support, and major banks have raised their China growth forecasts. China moved swiftly to extinguish a firestorm in Europe caused by its ambassador to France, who questioned the independence of ex-Soviet states. But with the damage already done, [read]( how Xi’s efforts to portray China as a neutral party to help end the war in Ukraine have been undermined, marking what looks like another setback in his attempts to revamp China’s image on the global stage. - Paraguay’s leading opposition presidential candidate, Efrain Alegre, said his country’s long-standing alliance with Taiwan is [costing]( it opportunities and will be reviewed if he’s elected on April 30. - Olaf Scholz invited Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang for talks in Berlin in June as the German chancellor seeks to [ease tensions]( between Europe and China. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Sudan’s War Will Test the New Arab Diplomacy: Bobby Ghosh]( - [What India Really Needs Is More Talent at the Top: Pankaj Mishra]( - [You Can Own a Gun, But You Can’t Just Shoot People: Editorial]( US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he was advised he didn’t have to disclose private jet flights and luxury vacations paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow because, although a close friend, Crow “did not have business before the court.” But as [Zoe Tillman]( reports, a review of dozens of state and federal cases by Bloomberg showed that, in at least one case, [Crow did](, and Thomas didn’t recuse himself. The response to SCOTUS from Trammell Crow Residential, a company in which the Crow family had a non-controlling interest at the time. Source: US Supreme Court Explainers You Can Use - [Thai Party Seeking Landslide Win Keeps Door Open for Tie-Up]( - [Contest for Oil Like Russia’s Is Finally Heating Up for Europe]( - [Tucker Carlson: The Major Allegations From Recent Lawsuits]( Sweltering temperatures have pushed Thailand’s government to [cut power rates]( ahead of next month’s general election, to ease the plight of consumers and businesses. Electricity demand hit the highest level ever last week as households and businesses fired up air conditioners, the country’s energy regulator said. Tune in to Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - Countries including China and Iran are deploying [digital repression]( more frequently to target dissent both at home and beyond their borders, the top US intelligence official said. - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak [wants to leverage]( the UK’s improved relationship with the EU into a deal to make it easier for Britons to travel to the bloc, sources say. - The UK is seeking to curtail a [two-day strike]( by nurses planned for the end of the month by taking court action to declare it unlawful. - Fani Willis, the district attorney in Atlanta, will decide this summer [whether to charge]( former President Donald Trump and his allies for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. - Nineteen countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have expressed an interest in [joining the BRICS]( group of nations as it prepares to hold an annual summit in South Africa. And finally ... The departure of Tucker Carlson from Fox News will deprive the right-wing broadcaster of the most popular US cable host but also rid the channel of a personality who repeatedly landed it in hot water. Smug, opinionated, always at the [center of controversy](, such as promoting claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, Carlson had no advance warning of the move, [Christopher Palmeri]( and [Gerry Smith]( report. Carlson. Photographer: Jason Koerner/Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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