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This report provides a comprehensive analysis of South Africa's development trajectory to 2043, comparing a 'Current Path' (business-as-usual) against eight sectoral scenarios and a 'Combined' scenario. It examines the impacts of demographics, health, education, manufacturing, trade (AfCFTA), infrastructure, financial flows, and governance on the country's GDP, poverty levels, and carbon emissions. The analysis highlights structural challenges such as extreme inequality, high unemployment, and a history of deindustrialisation, while offering policy recommendations to transition toward an export-led, green economy with improved human capital and governance.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of South Africa's geographic and socio-economic landscape. It details the country's transition from apartheid to a democratic state, the subsequent economic fluctuations, and the current challenges of deindustrialisation, corruption, and infrastructure decay. Key focus areas include the decline of the mining sector despite vast mineral reserves, the impact of the 2024 elections on political governance, and critical shortages in electricity and water.

This public information pamphlet, produced by Natural Justice, notifies the public about Motuoane Energy's application to convert an exploration right into a production right for helium and methane gas in the Free State province of South Africa. It outlines the planned infrastructure and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, inviting interested and affected parties to submit comments by February 23, 2026.

The Centre for Environmental Rights and Natural Justice, representing several community and environmental networks, submitted formal objections to the Scoping Report for the Motuoane Production Right application. The project proposes hydrocarbon exploration and extraction over approximately 14,400 hectares in the Free State Province, involving up to 43 production wells and associated infrastructure. The objectors argue that the Scoping Report is deficient in its assessments of air quality, climate change, hydrogeology, and social impacts, and that the public participation process was not meaningful.

A map and fact sheet by WWF South Africa focusing on the Zululand and Mpumalanga regions, highlighting their biodiversity and climatic conditions.

This expert report, prepared by Sustainable Surface and Groundwater Solutions (SSGS) for the Centre for Environmental Rights, reviews the revised groundwater component of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd's proposed Cluster 2 expansion of a natural gas field near Virginia, Free State Province. The review concludes that the assessment is fundamentally flawed in its methodology, data interpretation, and numerical modeling, rendering it an unreliable basis for decision-making.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of MACUA and MEJCON-SA and jointly with Natural Justice, submitted formal objections to the Motuoane Exploration Right 386 application. The submission argues that the project's scoping report is deficient in its assessment of climate change, air quality, and groundwater impacts, and that the public participation process was exclusionary and legally inadequate.

A community guide regarding a gas exploration application by Motuoane Energy (Pty) Ltd in the Free State province of South Africa.

This policy brief argues that South Africa should leverage international interest in green hydrogen to catalyze local socio-economic development and regional integration. It recommends prioritizing trade-focused investments in physical, institutional, and social enablers—specifically port infrastructure, domestic manufacturing of electrolysers, and community-centric social strategies—to ensure the sector benefits the domestic population rather than serving only as an export mechanism.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, representing MEJCON-SA and MACUA, has filed an appeal response report challenging the Environmental Authorisation (EA) granted to Tetra4 (Pty) Ltd for its Gas Gathering and Production Project in Virginia, Free State. The appellants argue that Tetra4 used a Basic Assessment Report (BAR) process to circumvent more rigorous Scoping and EIA requirements for the drilling of 18 additional wells, effectively 'project splitting' to avoid comprehensive environmental scrutiny. The report highlights critical failures in assessing climate change and geohydrology impacts, inadequate public participation—specifically the exclusion of farm workers and dwellers—and a lack of state capacity to monitor and enforce compliance in the oil and gas sector.

This guide by Natural Justice provides information on proposed natural gas exploration in South Africa's Free State Province by Rhino Oil & Gas Exploration South Africa (Pty) Ltd. It details the scope of exploration rights ER377 and ER378, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, potential environmental and social risks, and instructions for public participation.

The Free State Environmental Justice Network (FSEJN) has filed an appeal to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to set aside an environmental authorisation (EA) granted on 23 June 2025 to Afro Energy (Pty) Ltd. The EA allows for the exploration of conventional natural gas across approximately 240,000 hectares in the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. FSEJN argues that the decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) was unlawful, irrational, and failed to adequately assess climate, air quality, geohydrological, and socio-economic impacts, while also neglecting meaningful public participation.

The COP29 South African Youth Statement, presented by the Youth Policy Committee Global Change Working Group via Youth@SAIIA, outlines a comprehensive set of demands for the South African government delegation to COP29. The statement advocates for a climate justice approach that integrates human rights, gender equality, and social justice, calling for urgent reforms in water sanitation, waste management, and the energy transition to protect marginalized communities.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights examines the risks and financing of onshore gas extraction in South Africa, focusing on the Mpumalanga Gas Project and the Virginia gas field. It critiques the government's positioning of gas as a 'transition fuel' and highlights significant environmental, financial, and transparency concerns.

This legal memorandum analyzes the potential for company directors in South Africa to be held personally liable for failing to address, disclose, and prepare for climate-related financial risks. It examines the intersection of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, common law, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), and the recently enacted Climate Change Act 22 of 2024, arguing that climate risk is a material financial risk that falls under existing directors' duties of care, skill, and fiduciary loyalty.

This report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) examines the role of South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in the country's Just Energy Transition (JET). It argues that the DMRE has exhibited significant reluctance to lead the transition, driven by institutional 'stickiness', conflicts of interest between its minerals and energy mandates, and a perception of the JET as a Western imposition. The report highlights a lack of policy articulation, poor stakeholder engagement, and capacity constraints resulting from repeated organisational restructuring and the legacy of state capture. It concludes by welcoming the recent split of the DMRE into two separate departments—Mineral and Petroleum Resources, and Electricity and Energy—as a necessary step to resolve these conflicts and improve policy focus.

This report by Krutham, commissioned by the African Climate Foundation, examines the role of the insurance sector in enhancing climate resilience in South Africa. It analyzes the physical and transition risks facing insurers, the gaps in national and municipal disaster risk financing, and the potential for innovative insurance products—such as index-based and microinsurance—to protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure.

The Centre for Environmental Rights, representing MEJCON-SA and MACUA, submitted a formal objection on May 9, 2023, against Tetra4 (Pty) LTD's application to amend its Water Use Licence (WUL) for the Cluster 2 expansion of gas and helium production near Virginia, Free State. The objection argues that the Integrated Water and Waste Management Plan (IWWMP) fails to adequately assess risks of groundwater contamination, radioactive waste, municipal water stress, and the compounding effects of climate change on a region critical for South African food security.

This document is a formal objection letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), regarding Tetra4's application to amend its Water Use Licence (WUL) for the Cluster 2 expansion of gas and helium production near Virginia, Free State. The document includes the original objections and the corresponding responses from Tetra4, focusing on risks to groundwater, radioactive contamination, waste management, and the impacts of climate change on water security.

This briefing by GreenCape provides a comprehensive guide for global manufacturers considering investment in South Africa's green economy, specifically focusing on renewable energy, water, and sustainable agriculture. It details the policy landscape, market attractiveness, operational costs, labour laws, tax systems, and physical infrastructure, while identifying critical bottlenecks such as load shedding and policy inconsistency.