Implementación de transiciones justas

South Africa is transitioning from a coal-dependent economy to a low-carbon one, utilizing frameworks like the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). However, the implementation phase reveals a significant disconnect between national/international actors—who prioritize emission reductions and energy security—and local communities, who prioritize employment, basic services, and poverty alleviation. Key barriers include insufficient subnational institutional capacity, rigid financial mechanisms unsuitable for high-risk systemic change, and a lack of transparency in selecting project beneficiaries. The document specifically highlights green hydrogen as a potential new value chain, though its viability is currently hindered by high costs and the perception of just transition elements as additional financial burdens rather than core objectives.

• There is a misalignment between the goals of national and international stakeholders and those of local communities. While national entities, Eskom, and foreign funders focus on decarbonization and energy security, local actors prioritize issues such as job security, poverty, food security, and climate adaptation.
• Subnational institutional capacity is insufficient to effectively implement just transition projects, particularly in the coal-dependent province of Mpumalanga. This is exacerbated by the historical centralization of energy and mining policy in South Africa.
• Existing financial rules and practices are poorly suited for transformative just transition projects, which are often small-scale, high-risk, and require flexible, multi-layered funding and non-traditional partnership structures.
• The selection of beneficiaries for just transition investments lacks transparency, raising concerns about corruption and the potential for resources to be captured by a few elites rather than reaching intended targets.
• Green hydrogen is being promoted as a new low-carbon value chain to absorb coal workers, but its implementation faces six primary constraints, including high production costs compared to grey hydrogen and the tendency of developers to treat social objectives as secondary 'add-ons'.

APA

Strambo, C., Patel, M., & Maimele, S. (2024). Implementación de transiciones justas. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/implementacion-de-transiciones-justas-lecciones-de-sudafrica.pdf

Chicago

Strambo, Claudia, Muhammed Patel, and Seutame Maimele. Implementación de transiciones justas. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/implementacion-de-transiciones-justas-lecciones-de-sudafrica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Strambo |first1=Claudia |last2=Patel |first2=Muhammed |last3=Maimele |first3=Seutame |title=Implementación de transiciones justas |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=November 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/implementacion-de-transiciones-justas-lecciones-de-sudafrica.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{strambo2024implementacin, author = {Strambo, Claudia and Patel, Muhammed and Maimele, Seutame}, title = {{Implementación de transiciones justas}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/implementacion-de-transiciones-justas-lecciones-de-sudafrica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }