Search Climate Insights Directory

This research paper argues that South Africa's current skills planning system is inadequate for the emerging green hydrogen economy (GHE) due to a reliance on quantitative data and a lack of anticipatory capacity. The author advocates for the integration of strategic foresight (SF) and skills foresight (SF) into the post-school education and training (PSET) system, specifically within technical vocational education and training (TVET). The paper proposes four priority areas: strengthening skills anticipation systems, enhancing TVET sector responsiveness, developing transversal skills, and fostering a renewed education-related social compact to bridge the gap between TVET and universities.

This policy briefing examines the role of skills governance within South Africa's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem to support the emerging green hydrogen (GH2) economy. It advocates for a shift from a jobs-centric education model to one based on 'economic wellbeing,' which integrates paid work with caregiving, environmental stewardship, and state infrastructure. The document proposes systemic innovations, including the use of green economy skills incubator hubs, innovative financing like social impact bonds, and the implementation of a Universal Basic Dividend (UBD) to ensure the wealth generated from common resources in the GH2 transition is equitably distributed.

A policy brief by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) arguing that South African municipalities must rapidly deploy renewable energy solutions to ensure low-cost electricity and economic recovery, noting that nuclear options are significantly more expensive and slower.

This policy brief by WWF South Africa examines the intersection of the Just Energy Transition (JET) and the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus. It argues that South Africa's pursuit of a low-carbon economy is hindered by policy incoherence, where energy, water, and food security goals are pursued in isolation. The document identifies institutional silos, political contestation from the coal lobby, and budget cuts to environmental agencies as primary barriers to achieving a sustainable and equitable transition.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) has released its Strategy Summary & Implementation Plan for 2023–2027, which outlines a framework to achieve systemic social and economic change. The strategy focuses on producing critical knowledge, shifting economic discourse, and supporting collective power to advance economic justice in South Africa and across the African continent, with a specific emphasis on feminist and intersectional analytical lenses.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) submitted a report to the South African Parliament on February 26, 2024, criticizing the 2024 Budget for continuing a decade of austerity and budget cuts. The IEJ argues that the National Treasury's focus on debt stabilization and primary budget surpluses sacrifices public services and long-term economic growth, recommending instead a human-rights based fiscal approach with increased spending on social grants, public employment, and infrastructure.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) issued a statement criticizing President Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SONA) for lacking concrete plans to address South Africa's economic and social crises. The IEJ proposes ten specific questions for Members of Parliament to ask the President, focusing on social grants, public infrastructure, the Just Energy Transition, and the mobilization of domestic resources to realize constitutional rights.

This report by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the intersection of global renewable energy goals and South Africa's socio-economic challenges, arguing that a 'Just Energy Transition' requires radical socio-economic transformation, energy democracy, and decentralized governance.

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) submitted a report to the South African Standing and Select Committees on Finance criticizing the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for continuing a path of austerity. The IEJ argues that the government should shift from a narrow focus on debt stabilization to a development-focused budget that prioritizes growth, employment, and poverty reduction. The report proposes specific revenue-raising measures, such as wealth taxes and utilizing the GFECRA surplus, and calls for the restructuring of Eskom's debt to facilitate a just energy transition.

This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice argues for the implementation of a Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) in South Africa to combat extreme poverty, hunger, and high unemployment. It positions UBIG as a constitutional right and a tool for economic growth, gender equality, and social cohesion, while acknowledging that it must be part of a broader policy framework including industrial policy and universal public services.

The Marrakech Framework is a statement published by the African Center for Economic Transformation in October 2023. It outlines an African agenda for reforming the global financial architecture to better serve the continent's needs, focusing on debt resolution, increased concessional financing, and a transition to a green economy.

This research paper analyzes the dynamics of Zimbabwe's August 23, 2023, general elections, focusing on the contest between incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa (ZANU-PF) and challenger Nelson Chamisa (CCC). The author examines the electoral system, campaign strategies, and the systemic barriers facing the opposition, while highlighting the election's significance for Zimbabwe's international re-engagement and its role in the global critical minerals market.

This statement from the African Center for Economic Transformation evaluates the outcomes of the Paris summit for a new global financial pact, highlighting the emergence of a unified African voice and a broader global coalition calling for the reform of an international financial architecture that is deemed unfit for current overlapping crises.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice analyzes the USD 8.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in South Africa. It argues that the deal's reliance on blended finance and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) shifts commercial risks to the state and consumers while privatizing gains. The document warns that this 'de-risking' approach may worsen South Africa's fiscal position, increase energy poverty through higher tariffs, and undermine local renewable energy manufacturing. It proposes alternative pathways, including the regulation of private finance, debt cancellation for 'odious debt', climate reparations, and the implementation of allocative green credit policies.

A policy statement from the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlining ten priorities for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines ten priorities for the 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), advocating for a shift away from fiscal consolidation toward a framework that prioritizes unemployment, poverty, and inequality reduction through increased public investment and progressive taxation.

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of Fair Finance Southern Africa (FFSA), requesting information from Standard Chartered Bank regarding its role in financing Karpowership South Africa. The letter highlights environmental concerns, legal challenges, and potential contradictions with the bank's net-zero commitments.

Natural Justice submitted a statement expressing deep concern that the South African Climate Change Bill fails to address the urgency of the climate crisis, lacks ambitious emission targets, and omits necessary funding and capacity-building for implementation.

Natural Justice submitted comments on the draft Climate Change Bill (B9-2022) to the South African Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on 27 May 2022. The organization argues that the Bill lacks the urgency required to address the climate crisis, fails to set ambitious emission reduction targets, and provides insufficient protections for constitutional rights and vulnerable communities.

A letter from the Life after Coal Campaign (LAC) and the Fair Finance Coalition South Africa (FFCSA) to the South African government requesting transparency and civil society involvement in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the work of the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team.