Equity & Just Transition Commitments in South Africa

The report evaluates how national, provincial, city, and corporate entities in South Africa incorporate social justice into their net zero commitments. It finds significant disparities in ambition and implementation, with wealthy urban centres leading and less affluent provinces lagging. While the financial sector and some state-owned enterprises show strong just transition frameworks, many private companies and multinational corporations rely on vague offsetting strategies with limited socio-economic integration.

• There is a significant disparity in climate ambition between different levels of government, where urban centres like Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, and Pretoria are leading with ambitious net zero targets and just transition measures that often exceed provincial frameworks.
• Wealth and economic resources are primary drivers of climate strategy; affluent provinces and cities formulate more ambitious plans, while less affluent regions struggle to implement effective strategies due to a lack of socio-economic policies.
• Provincial climate strategies generally exert a one-directional influence on city-level policies, but there is little evidence that city-level initiatives influence provincial strategies, as seen in Gauteng where city efforts have not shaped underdeveloped provincial just transition policies.
• In the private sector, the financial services industry shows strong adherence to just transition principles, with companies like Sanlam, Old Mutual, and Momentum prioritising workforce upskilling and community support.
• Within the fossil fuel sector, state-owned enterprises like Eskom and companies like Sasol have developed comprehensive just transition frameworks including employee retraining and community investment, whereas other mining and logistics entities show inconsistent engagement.
• Multinational companies (MNCs) operating in South Africa often favour carbon neutrality over net zero and rely heavily on offsetting, frequently lacking specific references to just transition principles in their strategies.
• Many entities, particularly cities and corporations, lack transparency regarding the scope of emissions covered by their targets and the integrity of their offsetting practices.

APA

Mbewe, S., Tredoux, A., & Ukabhai, P. (2025). Equity & Just Transition Commitments in South Africa. Net Zero Tracker. https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/Equity-and-Just-Transition-Commitments-in-South-Africa-FINAL-15.01.25.pdf?v=1736937136

Chicago

Mbewe, Samson, Aimée Tredoux, and Priyanka Ukabhai. Equity & Just Transition Commitments in South Africa. Net Zero Tracker, 2025. https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/Equity-and-Just-Transition-Commitments-in-South-Africa-FINAL-15.01.25.pdf?v=1736937136.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mbewe |first1=Samson |last2=Tredoux |first2=Aimée |last3=Ukabhai |first3=Priyanka |title=Equity & Just Transition Commitments in South Africa |publisher=Net Zero Tracker |date=January 2025 |url=https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/Equity-and-Just-Transition-Commitments-in-South-Africa-FINAL-15.01.25.pdf?v=1736937136 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mbewe2025equity, author = {Mbewe, Samson and Tredoux, Aimée and Ukabhai, Priyanka}, title = {{Equity \& Just Transition Commitments in South Africa}}, institution = {Net Zero Tracker}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/Equity-and-Just-Transition-Commitments-in-South-Africa-FINAL-15.01.25.pdf?v=1736937136}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }