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The South African mining sector is highly vulnerable to job losses driven by biophysical climate impacts and international trade responses, with coal, gold, and platinum being the most at risk. While biophysical impacts could lead to 14,700 job losses across all sectors, international trade responses could cause between 9,400 and 52,800 losses by 2030. The report highlights that coal and lignite mining is particularly vulnerable, with expected job losses of approximately 6% by 2030. However, the transition to a low-carbon economy creates opportunities for job growth in the extraction of minerals required for clean energy technologies, such as manganese and platinum group metals. To manage this transition, the report recommends a two-pronged approach to inventory and match transferable skills to non-mining sectors and new mining sub-sectors.

The report finds that achieving an 80% non-fossil electricity share by 2035 is technically feasible and would lower wholesale electricity costs compared to current policy trajectories. This transition would be driven by the declining costs of wind, solar, and battery storage, which the authors argue are now more cost-effective than new coal generation. The 'Clean Energy' scenario would significantly reduce CO2 emissions and premature deaths from air pollution, while resulting in a net increase in employment, despite losses in the coal mining sector. Reliability analysis suggests the system can maintain a 10% operating reserve margin even with high variable renewable penetration and the retirement of 250 to 300 GW of coal capacity.

The document applies the SAVi methodology to the Dakar BRT project, demonstrating that while conventional financial analysis suggests the project is not viable, the integration of external effects—such as time saved and avoided pollution—reveals substantial net benefits for Senegalese society. The analysis covers four scenarios, including variations in passenger demand, and predicts a net job loss of 14% in the transport sector, offset by a 15.6% increase in discretionary spending across the wider economy.