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Enabling large-scale renewable energy development in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga is positioned as a strategic hub for South Africa's renewable energy transition due to its significant grid capacity and proximity to industrial demand. However, developers face substantial hurdles, including a lack of a public mining cadastre and delays in Section 53 land-use applications under the Mineral and Petroleum Resource Development Act. Environmental risks, specifically the lack of precise data on endangered bird flight paths, create uncertainty for wind projects. The document suggests short-term mitigations like the Energy One Stop Shop and Strategic Infrastructure Project registration, while advocating for long-term solutions such as a public mining rights database and comprehensive bird monitoring studies.
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Document type: Briefing
PowerUp Platform: Aligning Skills for a Sustainable Future
The PowerUp Platform is a digital hub created to bridge the gap between industry requirements and the training provided by post-school education and training (PSET) institutions in South Africa's renewable energy sector. It aims to facilitate collaboration between industry leaders, PSET institutions, SETAs, and social compact partners to ensure the availability of skills necessary for industrialisation and a just transition. The platform focuses on six core objectives: communication, awareness, identifying competency gaps, funding facilitation, workplace training, and creating linkages for youth and transitioning workers. Unlike a static job portal, PowerUp is an active facilitation tool that uses matchmaking, workshops, and brokerage to drive tangible skills outcomes.
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Document type: Fact sheet
REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ) Alternative Service Delivery Unit Mpumalanga – Enumeration and mobilisation service provider
This Request for Quotation (RFQ) issued by GreenCape seeks a service provider to conduct community engagement, enumeration, and mobilisation in Nomzamo Agri Village, Ermelo, Mpumalanga. The project, funded by the Royal Danish Embassy of South Africa, aims to establish a service delivery mechanism to increase access to basic energy services for marginalised communities as part of a Just Transition in the green economy.
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Document type: Briefing
Sustainable Mobility Market Analysis and Opportunity Report
The report argues that South Africa can transition its mobility sector to zero-emission vehicles by leveraging the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) to attract EV assembly and component manufacturing. It highlights a strategic opportunity in public transport, noting a potential market of 350,000 minibus taxis and 65,000 buses. The document identifies high import taxes (at least 42% for EVs) as a barrier to uptake that local manufacturing at the ASEZ could overcome. It recommends targeting global OEMs like Tesla and BYD, as well as local startups like MellowVans and Green Riders, while emphasizing the need to localize the production of lithium-ion battery cells and semi-conductors to secure the value chain.
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Document type: Report
Solving climate and development challenges in the developing world through cleantech clusters
The white paper proposes using cleantech clusters—groups of co-located firms and institutions—to overcome the slow adoption of climate solutions in developing countries. It advocates for the creation of independent, non-profit cluster agencies to coordinate ecosystems, attract investment, and create jobs, citing the success of organizations like GreenCape and Clean in South Africa, Denmark, Brazil, and Colombia.
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Document type: Report
BUILDING GREEN INVESTMENT PIPELINE THROUGH EARLY STAGE GREEN SMME SUPPORT INITIATIVES
The document highlights the funding gap for green small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa, noting that while the country requires significant annual investment to meet net zero and NDC goals, there is a low risk appetite for early-stage funding. It presents the FNF GreenPitch Challenge as a mechanism to source investment pipelines and support SMME investment readiness. As a specific example, it profiles BioAge, a 2023 pre-growth winner and agri-biotech startup producing the organic fertilizer Nitro-Gro, which aligns with sustainable agriculture market opportunities to improve soil health and crop resilience.
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Document type: Case study
BUILDING GREEN INVESTMENT PIPELINE THROUGH EARLY STAGE GREEN SMME SUPPORT INITIATIVES
The document highlights a gap in South Africa's climate finance landscape, where a low risk appetite for early-stage green SMMEs coincides with a lack of investment-ready pipelines. It presents the FNF GreenPitch Challenge as a mechanism to address this by sourcing pipelines and supporting SMME investment readiness. The case of STROOM, a women-owned electric cargo bike enterprise, illustrates the potential for micro-mobility to reduce operational costs by over 80% and create jobs in township and rural markets.
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Document type: Case study
OP DIE PAD NA ’N REGVERDIGE OORGANG IN SUID-AFRIKA SE VOEDSELSTELSEL
The document examines the failures of South Africa's industrial food system, characterized by corporate power, land inequality, and high greenhouse gas emissions. It advocates for a 'just transition' that prioritizes workers, small-scale farmers, and women over corporate profit. The author proposes a framework based on three goals: decent livelihoods, environmental sustainability through agro-ecology, and the right to food and nutrition. The text warns that 'green' transitions focusing only on production sustainability may reinforce existing inequalities if they ignore power dynamics and social justice.
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Document type: Fact sheet
TOWARDS A JUST TRANSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SYSTEM
The fact sheet outlines the necessity of a just transition in South Africa's food system to combat land inequality, corporate dominance, and food insecurity. It argues that the current industrial food system contributes approximately 18% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions and is highly vulnerable to climate change. The document proposes a framework based on food sovereignty, focusing on three targets: equitable livelihoods, environmental sustainability through agroecology, and the right to food and nutrition. It identifies several barriers to this transition, including a policy bias toward energy and the market-driven approach established by the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act of 1996.
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Document type: Fact sheet
GO YA GO PHETOŠO YE KAONE KA LENANEONG LA DIJO LA AFRIKA BORWA
The fact sheet outlines the necessity of a just transition in South Africa's food system, highlighting how historical land dispossession and corporate control have led to food insecurity and labor exploitation. It proposes a transition based on three pillars: equitable livelihoods, sustainable ecological production, and the right to healthy food. The document identifies barriers such as the influence of large companies and fragmented government policies, and provides a framework of principles and indicators to guide the transition toward a more just and resilient food system.
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Document type: Fact sheet
TOWARDS A JUST TRANSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SYSTEM
The fact sheet outlines the necessity of a just transition in South Africa's food system, highlighting how historical land dispossession and corporate control have led to food insecurity and labor exploitation. It proposes a framework based on three goals: equal livelihoods, environmental stability, and the right to adequate nutrition. The document identifies significant barriers, including a policy focus on energy over food systems and the dominance of corporate interests, and provides a set of principles and indicators to measure and implement a just transition.
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Document type: Fact sheet
SIBHEKE OSHINTSHWENI OLUNOBULUNGISWA EZINHLELWENI ZOKUDLA ENINGIZIMU AFRIKA
The document outlines the necessity of a 'just transition' in South Africa's food systems, moving away from industrial models that marginalize small-scale farmers and workers. It identifies key barriers, such as the dominance of large corporations and a policy focus limited to the energy sector, and proposes a framework based on agroecology, fair livelihoods, and the right to nutritious food. The text emphasizes that industrial food production contributes approximately 18% of South Africa's greenhouse gas emissions and leaves the food supply highly vulnerable to climate change.
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Document type: Fact sheet
IZINHLELO ZOKUDLA ZASENINGIZIMU AFRIKA KANYE NESIDINGO SOSHINTSHO OLUNOBULUNGISWA
The document analyzes the current state of South Africa's food system, highlighting how industrial agriculture and trade policies prioritize large-scale commercial interests and exports over domestic food security. It notes that at least one in five households faces food insecurity, with black women and rural residents most affected. The text criticizes the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in forcing market openings that lead to the import of cheap, low-nutrient food, undermining local producers. Environmentally, the current system is described as unsustainable due to excessive water use, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gas emissions. The document proposes a 'just transition' based on agroecology, the redistribution of land and resources, and the establishment of food as a public right regardless of purchasing power.
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Document type: Fact sheet
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE AND THE FOOD SYSTEM
Climate change in South Africa is projected to increase temperatures by up to 3.5°C over 40 years, leading to water scarcity, yield pressure for maize and wheat, and increased vulnerability for smallholder farmers and marginalized groups. The document argues that a market-led response will intensify inequality and instead advocates for a just transition involving resource redistribution, agroecology, and social support systems.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Just Energy Transition: GHANA RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY SCAN
The report examines Ghana's energy, industrial, and gender policies, finding that while there is a strong focus on localisation and renewable energy targets, there is a lack of specific mechanisms to integrate small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and women into the production networks. It highlights implementation lags in the Renewable Energy Master Plan and the absence of a unified industrial policy, recommending targeted financial support and gender-responsive budgeting to ensure a just transition.
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Document type: Report
Institute for Economic Justice submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights’ Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth
The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) proposes a shift away from growth-dependent poverty eradication, advocating for a universal basic income grant for adults aged 18-59 in South Africa and a global wealth tax on billionaires. The submission argues against regressive VAT increases and conditional social grants, instead recommending progressive taxation, debt management strategies to lower interest costs, and the removal of algorithmic and digital barriers to social protection access.
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Document type: Statement
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE JUST ENERGY TRANSITION: Localisation, Decent Work, Small Medium and Micro Enterprise, and Sustainable Livelihoods Project
The document provides a conceptual framework for analyzing the 'Just Energy Transition' in three African countries, focusing on the localisation of renewable energy technologies. It utilizes the Global Production Networks (GPN) approach to examine the interplay between value creation, power dynamics, and embeddedness. The framework argues that for a transition to be 'just,' it must move beyond simple job creation to ensure 'social upgrading'—improvements in workers' rights, gender equity, and sustainable livelihoods. It specifically highlights the role of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and the necessity of state-led industrial policy to overcome the dominance of multinational firms and the risks of 'adverse inclusion' in global value chains.
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Document type: Research paper
Just Energy Transition: Continental Overview of Renewable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa
The report assesses the current state of electricity generation, transmission, and consumption across Africa, highlighting a 'double burden' of climate and transition risk. It finds that while renewable energy potential is high, investment is heavily skewed toward generation and concentrated in a few countries, with significant data gaps hindering effective policy. The analysis of Global Production Networks (GPNs) reveals a heavy dependence on imported technology, particularly from China, and identifies specific challenges and opportunities for localising solar and wind value chains. Employment data is noted as inconsistent, though solar PV dominates the current renewable energy job landscape.
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Document type: Report
THE SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD SYSTEM AND THE NEED FOR A JUST TRANSITION
The document analyzes the South African food system, describing it as a concentrated, corporate-led industrial model that prioritizes export markets over domestic food security. It highlights systemic issues including high food insecurity—affecting at least one in five households—and environmental degradation caused by large-scale commercial farming. The author advocates for a 'just transition' characterized by the redistribution of land, the adoption of agroecology to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, and the establishment of a universal basic income grant to ensure the right to food for all citizens.
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Document type: Fact sheet
LENANEO LA DIJO LA AFRIKA BORWA LE TLHOKEGO YA PHETOŠO YE KAONE
The fact sheet analyzes the current state of South Africa's food system, characterizing it as a corporate-dominated structure that prioritizes exports over domestic food security and causes significant environmental harm. It highlights a crisis of food insecurity where one in five households lacks consistent access to food, particularly affecting women and rural residents. The document advocates for a 'just transition' toward agroecology, the redistribution of land and resources, and a shift toward a food system that treats food as a public good rather than a market commodity.
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Document type: Fact sheet