Lessons learnt: COVID-19 and the climate crisis in South Africa

The document argues that the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis share analytical similarities as global shocks that exacerbate existing inequalities. It identifies six key lessons for South Africa: the necessity of accessible social protection, the need to value care work, the requirement for a strong and proactive state, the importance of localising industrial processes, the necessity of international cooperation, and the need to center justice in responses to mitigate worsening inequalities.

• Social protection is a critical component of climate adaptation and resilience, as climate impacts disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, such as manual laborers facing heat stress and subsistence farmers facing reduced rainfall. The authors advocate for a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) and expanded Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) access for informal and domestic workers to mitigate destitution.
• Care work, which includes meeting the physical and psychological needs of others, has been systemically undervalued and primarily borne by women. Climate change is expected to increase the burden of care due to new diseases and disasters, necessitating a shift toward professionalizing care and investing in public health and childcare as low-carbon job opportunities.
• The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that a strong, decisive state is essential for crisis management. To address the climate crisis, the South African government must move beyond a neoliberal approach of merely addressing market failures and instead act as a key investor in the economy, implementing cross-sectoral policies and substantive investments in mitigation and adaptation.
• South Africa's reliance on the Minerals and Energy Complex (MEC) and fossil fuels—which comprise 78% of the primary energy supply—leaves the economy vulnerable. Localising the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, food systems, and medical products is necessary to build resilience and create permanent low-carbon jobs to replace lost coal jobs.
• International cooperation is hindered by 'vaccine nationalism' and a lack of solidarity from the Global North. The authors argue that the Global North should provide not only finance and technology but also debt relief to Global South countries, which have limited fiscal space to address climate change due to debts incurred during the pandemic.
• Both the pandemic and climate change exacerbate systemic inequalities based on race, class, and gender. A 'just transition' requires incorporating procedural, restorative, and distributive justice to ensure that the costs and benefits of climate responses are allocated fairly and that the most vulnerable are not further marginalized.

APA

Taylor, J., & Lehmann-Grube, K. (2021). Lessons learnt: COVID-19 and the climate crisis in South Africa. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIPS-Conference-Paper-Covid-and-the-Climate-Crisis-Taylor-Lehmann-Grube.pdf

Chicago

Taylor, Julia, and Katrina Lehmann-Grube. Lessons learnt: COVID-19 and the climate crisis in South Africa. Institute for Economic Justice, 2021. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIPS-Conference-Paper-Covid-and-the-Climate-Crisis-Taylor-Lehmann-Grube.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Taylor |first1=Julia |last2=Lehmann-Grube |first2=Katrina |title=Lessons learnt: COVID-19 and the climate crisis in South Africa |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=August 2021 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIPS-Conference-Paper-Covid-and-the-Climate-Crisis-Taylor-Lehmann-Grube.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{taylor2021lessons, author = {Taylor, Julia and Lehmann-Grube, Katrina}, title = {{Lessons learnt: COVID-19 and the climate crisis in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIPS-Conference-Paper-Covid-and-the-Climate-Crisis-Taylor-Lehmann-Grube.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }