A FRENCH development agency has extended a R1,568-million loan to the Central Energy Fund’s carbon capture and storage efforts, it said today (November 27).

“We view this partnership with the CEF of significant importance, particularly during the current energy crisis in the country,” Agence Française de Développement (AFD) chief executive Jean-Michel Severino said in a statement.

AFD is the French arm for international co-operation.

“It will be one of the country’s most promising measures for climate change mitigation.”

Carbon capture and storage was currently the only technology available to make an impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while still using fossil fuels and existing energy infrastructure, he said.

According to the statement, the partnership between the AFD and the CEF began in 2007 with the launch of a R7,2-million project to increase energy efficiency and renewable energies in the South African economy. – Sapa