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South Africa's green technology transfer ecosystem is characterized by a comprehensive but fragmented policy landscape. While strategic frameworks like the National Development Plan 2030 and the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) aim to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, a core tension exists between social equity goals—such as localisation requirements—and the urgent need for rapid decarbonisation. Successes in the energy sector via the REIPPPP contrast with significant gaps in funding and commercialisation capacity within the broader research and innovation ecosystem.

This policy brief examines China's role in transferring green technology to the Global South, highlighting its leadership in renewable energy and the mechanisms used to disseminate this technology. It analyzes the achievements of initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and the South–South Climate Cooperation Fund, while identifying critical challenges including gaps between environmental commitments and actual impacts, limited local operational capacity, and geopolitical tensions.

This policy brief examines China's role in transferring green technology to the Global South, highlighting its leadership in renewable energy and the mechanisms used to support sustainable development. While China has established numerous bilateral agreements and funds, the document identifies significant challenges including a gap between environmental commitments and actual impacts, limited local operational capacity, and geopolitical tensions.