Search Climate Insights Directory

The submission argues that the draft SAREM over-relies on private investment and fails to sufficiently address the impact of the global supply chain crisis on renewable energy costs. It advocates for a state-led industrial policy, including the use of import tariffs and the central role of Eskom in renewable generation, to avoid 'boom-bust' cycles and ensure a just transition for workers. Key recommendations include establishing a 'decent work' framework, implementing aggressive local content requirements (suggesting 50% for future RFPs), and creating a technology transfer system to support local manufacturing.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) critiques the SAREM draft for lacking definitions of 'decent work', failing to provide a robust framework for monitoring local content compliance, and ignoring the potential for a local recycling industry. The document argues that the current market-led approach risks a 'race to the bottom' on price, which undermines local manufacturing. To counter this, the IEJ recommends aggressive local content requirements (LCRs) of 50% for future public procurement, the use of import tariffs to protect nascent industry, and the provision of low-cost public debt to offset the higher costs of locally produced components. It further advocates for a Technology Transfer System (TTS) to build local technical capacity and the establishment of municipal-level recycling depots for solar PV modules to prevent environmental damage and create jobs.