The Policy and Regulatory Landscape of Green Technology Transfer in South Africa

South Africa's green technology transfer ecosystem is characterized by a comprehensive but fragmented policy landscape. While strategic frameworks like the National Development Plan 2030 and the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) aim to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, a core tension exists between social equity goals—such as localisation requirements—and the urgent need for rapid decarbonisation. Successes in the energy sector via the REIPPPP contrast with significant gaps in funding and commercialisation capacity within the broader research and innovation ecosystem.

• South Africa's policy environment for green technology is fragmented, creating inconsistencies and institutional silos that hinder the scaling of pilot projects and the translation of research into commercial products.
• A fundamental conflict exists between domestic protectionist policies, such as localisation quotas intended to ensure social equity and job creation, and the need for rapid, cost-effective decarbonisation to meet climate goals.
• The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is cited as a successful model of public-private collaboration that has attracted significant foreign direct investment and indirectly encouraged the transfer of technical know-how.
• The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) serves as a primary operational tool for tech transfer, targeting over R1 trillion in investment and utilizing an initial USD 8.5 billion from international partners to de-risk projects in power generation, green hydrogen, and new energy vehicles.
• Data regulations, specifically the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), may act as non-tariff barriers by imposing complex data localisation obligations that impede the rollout of global green technology platforms.
• The Reimagined Industrial Strategy (RIS) shifts from state-led initiatives to a multi-stakeholder approach using sectoral master plans to embed 'Greening the Economy' as a pillar for structural transformation across all policy frameworks.
• Despite the existence of tech transfer policies in public R&D organisations, implementation is poor; a survey indicated that only 15% of these organisations have high performance measures and half receive no funding for tech transfers.
• In the agricultural sector, tech transfer is focused on empowering smallholder farmers through the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Strategic Framework and the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan of 2022.
• The water and waste sectors utilize strategic roadmaps and master plans to transition toward circular economies and sustainable resource management, emphasizing desalination, wastewater reuse, and waste-to-energy technologies.
• South Africa is leveraging its mineral wealth to attract targeted FDI, exemplified by the IDC's funding of the Steenkampskraal Rare Earths Project to establish a diversified manufacturing base for critical minerals.

APA

Fundira, T. (2025). The Policy and Regulatory Landscape of Green Technology Transfer in South Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/the-policy-and-regulatory-landscape-of-green-technology-transfer-in-south-africa

Chicago

Fundira, Taku. The Policy and Regulatory Landscape of Green Technology Transfer in South Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2025. https://afripoli.org/the-policy-and-regulatory-landscape-of-green-technology-transfer-in-south-africa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fundira |first1=Taku |title=The Policy and Regulatory Landscape of Green Technology Transfer in South Africa |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=27 November 2025 |url=https://afripoli.org/the-policy-and-regulatory-landscape-of-green-technology-transfer-in-south-africa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fundira2025policy, author = {Fundira, Taku}, title = {{The Policy and Regulatory Landscape of Green Technology Transfer in South Africa}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://afripoli.org/the-policy-and-regulatory-landscape-of-green-technology-transfer-in-south-africa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }