A Worker-Centred Framework for Financing the Just Transition

This fact sheet presents a worker-centred framework, co-produced with COSATU, to finance South Africa's just transition. It critiques the JET-IP's funding gap and private-sector reliance, proposing instead a shift toward eco-socialism through fiscal reforms (e.g., a Climate Response Fund), monetary policy shifts to support green industrialisation, and the reorientation of Development Finance Institutions.

• The current Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) estimates a requirement of R1.5 trillion for the energy sector, but existing pledges are insufficient and the reliance on private financing is viewed as a risk to workers' rights, energy costs, and equality.
• The proposed framework, grounded in COSATU’s 2022 Just Transition Blueprint for Workers, advocates for eco-socialism and specific worker demands in the energy, mining, transport, and agriculture sectors, including social protection, skills development, and protections for livelihoods.
• The framework identifies three primary categories of financing tools: fiscal policy reforms (including a Climate Response Fund, green bonds, and ring-fencing revenues from mineral royalties, fuel levies, and carbon taxes), monetary policy reforms to redirect investment toward green industrialisation and manage climate-induced inflation, and the reorientation of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to prioritize socially just projects over short-term returns.

APA

iej_admin (2025). A Worker-Centred Framework for Financing the Just Transition. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/a-worker-centred-framework-for-financing-the-just-transition/

Chicago

iej_admin. A Worker-Centred Framework for Financing the Just Transition. Institute for Economic Justice, 2025. https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/a-worker-centred-framework-for-financing-the-just-transition/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=iej_admin |title=A Worker-Centred Framework for Financing the Just Transition |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=11 September 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/a-worker-centred-framework-for-financing-the-just-transition/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{iejadmin2025workercentred, author = {iej\_admin}, title = {{A Worker-Centred Framework for Financing the Just Transition}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/a-worker-centred-framework-for-financing-the-just-transition/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }