Climate Finance At COP27: A First Take On South Africa’s JET-IP

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) provides an initial analysis of South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP), released on 4 November 2022. The IEJ argues that the plan relies too heavily on private finance and loans, which risks increasing national debt, exacerbating energy poverty through 'cost reflective' tariffs, and failing to provide adequate social security for workers in the coal sector.

• The JET-IP is characterized by a heavy reliance on loans over grants, with loans accounting for 81% of total financing and grants making up only about 4%.
• The investment plan is predominantly focused on infrastructure, with 89.4% of financing targeted there, and the electricity sector (generation, transmission, and distribution) receiving 81% of the total JET-IP finance. In contrast, skills development and economic diversification and innovation receive only 0.1% and 0.3% respectively.
• The IEJ warns that the JET-IP's reliance on private-sector energy generation and 'cost reflective' tariffs may increase energy prices and worsen energy poverty, as these structures often include private profit and interest.
• The South African government remains exposed to significant financial risk from sovereign guarantees provided under Bid Window 1 to Bid Window 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP), while the JET-IP only addresses the reduction of guarantees for future projects.
• The plan is criticized for insufficient support for the localization of the renewable energy value chain, allocating only R1.6bn for localization compared to R648bn for electricity sector infrastructure. This imbalance may lead to a failure in absorbing coal value chain workers into the new system.
• There is a lack of adequate social security and employment guarantees for affected communities and workers, particularly in Mpumalanga's coal region, where up to 8,000 direct job losses are predicted.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2022). Climate Finance At COP27: A First Take On South Africa’s JET-IP. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/COP-27-JET-IP-Fact-sheet.docx.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Climate Finance At COP27: A First Take On South Africa’s JET-IP. 2022. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/COP-27-JET-IP-Fact-sheet.docx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Climate Finance At COP27: A First Take On South Africa’s JET-IP |date=2022 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/COP-27-JET-IP-Fact-sheet.docx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2022climate, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Climate Finance At COP27: A First Take On South Africa’s JET-IP}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2022}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/COP-27-JET-IP-Fact-sheet.docx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }