The article discusses the historic standoff between South Africa and the West over catastrophic climate change, with negotiations involving both carrots and sticks. South Africa’s economy is highly vulnerable to decarbonisation, largely due to its heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants, and the country’s post-apartheid class structure has been skewed by the dominant role played by fossil fuel companies. The article highlights the challenges of implementation in climate finance and carbon pricing, and warns that they may do more harm than good if they perpetuate a future of rising greenhouse gas emissions and the polluters’ refusal to acknowledge their historic climate debt. The article also discusses the recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, which witnessed climate injustice and was boycotted by Greta Thunberg. The COP27 did succeed in adopting a new Loss and Damage Fund, but the lead Dutch climate diplomat admitted that it was an empty box and that it was pushed through only after the US and China “freaked out.”