South Africa concerned Trump election will impact climate talks

South Africa is concerned by the impact Donald Trump's election as the next president of the United States may have on talks to tackle climate change, its environment minister said on Friday. Trump's election and the collapse of Germany's coalition government this week have come right before COP29 talks aimed at curbing global warming, which scientists blame for destructive hurricanes, floods and heatwaves across the world this year. "We are concerned about America because we don't know what they're going to do ... how (it) is going to approach COP," South African Environment Minister Dion George told Reuters. "Mr. Trump said that he would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, but we don't know what will happen," George added in a telephone interview on Friday. International partners are concerned that the prospect of an administration led by Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, will de-motivate poor and middle-income countries who want rich nations to shoulder more of its financial burden. South Africa, which is one of the world's top 15 greenhouse gas emitters and accounts for 30% of the continent's emissions, has accepted $11.6-billion from rich nations, mainly in loans, for a switch from coal to renewable energy.