Miner Thokozani Mtshweni, 37, looks exhausted as he prepares for a 12-hour shift huddled under a carport canopy to escape the scorching sun. He fastens his belt, which is weighed down by an oxygen tank and gas detectors.

An hour’s drive from Johannesburg, the Khutala Colliery is one of more than 100 coal mines and a dozen coal-fired power plants that dot the industrial landscape of the north-eastern province of Mpumalanga, an area known as South Africa’s coal belt.

Workers in dirty yellow overalls breathe the hazy air as they wait to board trucks that will take them to an underground shaft.

“The closure of these mines would greatly affect our lives,” Mtshweni told AFP. “It would be chaos”.

Coal is a mainstay of South Africa’s economy, employing nearly 100,000 people and accounting for 80 percent of electricity generation.

However, the future of the sector is uncertain as Africa’s most industrialized economy seeks to wean itself off of carbon-emitting fuels in line with global efforts to combat climate change.

Last year, the government secured $8.5 billion in loans and grants from a group of wealthy nations to fund the transition to greener alternatives.

Tense negotiations over how the money will be spent are expected to end ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November.

Supporters hope the money could act as a catalyst to change the energy landscape in one of the world’s top 12 polluters.

However, questions remain about the country’s ability to rapidly advance its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Significantly more funds are needed,” said Daniel Mminele, who heads the finance task team of a climate commission set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

A study by South Africa’s Stellenbosch University put the figure at $250 billion over the next 30 years.

Recent studies suggest more jobs will be created than lost, but analysts say the swap won’t be painless.

The coal industry is concentrated in Mpumalanga, which accounts for about 80 percent of all coal production.

“We need coal,” says Isaac Mahumapelo, a section manager at the Khutala colliery, as mountains of black stuff are crushed behind him.

“The cities, the cities in and around Mpumalanga were created by the coal mines.”

Unions fear job losses will not be recovered by the renewable energy sector. Nationwide, unemployment is over 30 percent.

“Wind and solar are not developed in South Africa, they are manufactured elsewhere,” says energy analyst Tshepo Kgadima.

After a decade in the pits, Mtshweni the miner is among those who fear for their future.

“Everyone depends on that coal to feed their loved ones,” he says.

International pressure on South Africa to clean up its act is viewed with distaste by some.

Europe’s renewed appetite for coal after the gas crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is often cited as evidence of double standards.

“Coal will be around for some time and while we want to work together… let’s have our own agenda that realistically recognizes South Africa’s socio-economic imperatives,” says Mike Teke, CEO of Khutala Colliery Operator, Seriti.

Nevertheless, things are moving.

Khutala Colliery is located near Kendal, an industrial town surrounded by coal silos and thick plumes of smoke.

The mine feeds a nearby power plant – one of the largest in the world – operated by state-owned power company Eskom.

The plant and neighboring mines are surrounded by corn and cattle farms.

Cattle graze under the gray polluted sky. Lumps of coal lie by the side of the road while trucks come and go.

Still, Seriti recently launched a green energy arm to invest in wind and solar.

“We have to diversify according to what might come,” says Teke.

Climate activists have tried to force the government to step on the gas by taking them to court.

In a first victory this year, judges ordered authorities to reduce pollution in Mpumalanga – which Greenpeace says has some of the dirtiest air in the world.

As Eskom’s aging assets struggle to produce enough energy to keep the lights on, the government has unveiled plans to expand renewable energy.

Action is a must, says Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, an economist at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies, a think tank, warning that the long-term cost of sticking to coal will be much higher.

The European Union will introduce a carbon tax on imports – a move other countries could follow and would hit economies like South Africa hard, he warns.

“If we don’t decarbonize, there will be significant job losses. We will lose our access to markets and finance,” he says.

“No transition is not an option. The consequences will be dire.”