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The report identifies five key Water-Smart Agriculture (WSA) innovation clusters in South Africa: irrigation systems, smart farming, undercover farming, sustainable practices, and drought-tolerant crops. While commercial farms have adopted many of these technologies due to economies of scale, adoption remains low among smallholder and emerging farmers. The analysis estimates significant market sizes for high-tech greenhouses (R11.78 billion) and no-till machinery (R4.48 billion), while identifying remote sensing services as a high-growth area. Major barriers include high upfront costs, limited technical skills, and an unfriendly regulatory environment. The report recommends developing innovative financing models, increasing farmer awareness, and strengthening government support through tax rebates and policy integration.

The report identifies southern Africa as a climate change 'hotspot' where warming in the interior is occurring at approximately twice the global average rate. It warns that global warming of 3 °C could lead to the collapse of key crops and the livestock sector. Freshwater availability is projected to decline due to reduced rainfall and increased evaporation, while the risk of multi-year droughts and intense heat waves is expected to rise. These changes threaten food security, increase human mortality in urban areas, and place thousands of unique species at risk of premature extinction. The document emphasizes that the severity of these impacts depends on global mitigation efforts, with 'low mitigation futures' posing significantly higher risks than those limiting warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C.

The report evaluates the impact of SO2 emissions from large solid fuel combustion installations in South Africa, primarily those operated by Eskom and Sasol. It concludes that implementing stricter emission standards is technologically feasible and economically beneficial for society due to significant reductions in public health costs, despite the high capital costs for plant operators. The panel recommends a flexible regulatory approach where emission limits are tailored to the remaining lifetime of each plant, suggesting that plants operating beyond the mid-2030s should meet stricter limits of 250 mg/Nm3 or 500 mg/Nm3, while those retiring sooner may be granted more lenient limits of 1000 mg/Nm3. The report highlights that 'expedited retirement' of older coal capacity could reduce retrofit costs by approximately 25% and minimize electricity tariff increases.

The document outlines systemic governance failures in South Africa from a youth perspective, highlighting exclusion from political decision-making, extreme economic inequality, and poor infrastructure in education and health. It argues that while progressive policies often exist on paper, implementation is slow and unsystematic, particularly regarding land reform, climate change transition, and youth employment. The submission recommends institutionalising youth quotas, expanding social protection through a basic income grant, and reforming the electoral system to allow independent candidates.

The assessment finds that nature-based infrastructure (stream renaturalization) is the most cost-efficient and climate-resilient option, providing the highest net benefits primarily through avoided flood damages and additional water supply. While grey infrastructure (concrete culverts) has the highest upfront costs and provides no environmental co-benefits, nature-based solutions maintain superior performance across various climate scenarios, although they are more labour-intensive to maintain.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing groundWork, Earthlife Africa, and the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa, submitted formal objections to the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (EMSEZ). The CER argues that the EIA is fatally flawed due to procedural unfairness, inadequate public participation, and significant gaps in specialist studies regarding climate change, water scarcity, air quality, and human health. The document asserts that the project's high negative environmental impacts likely outweigh its projected socio-economic benefits and that an environmental authorisation should be denied.

A summary of the High Court judgment in Featherbrooke Homeowners Association NPC v Mogale City Local Municipality & Others, where the court found that state entities failed in their duty to manage stormwater, infringing on the constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment.

The report argues that the IDC's investment in MC Mining demonstrates a continued funding of unsustainable, climate-risky projects and highlights critical failures in the IDC's Responsible Investment Policy and due diligence processes. It details the environmental and social risks associated with MC Mining's operations in the Soutpansberg area, including threats to the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site and the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. The document concludes that the IDC's lack of transparency and failure to integrate sustainability and human rights standards into its decision-making expose public funds to significant risks and undermine South Africa's climate goals.

The report identifies significant economic potential in South Africa's waste sector, particularly through the transition toward a circular economy. It highlights the City of Cape Town as a primary hub for waste beneficiation due to its high landfill gate fees and substantial investments in material recovery facilities. Key growth drivers include the 2020 National Waste Management Strategy, new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, and provincial landfill restrictions on organic waste. While the plastics and e-waste sectors show strong potential for virgin material replacement and national processing, challenges such as inadequate source separation, data gaps, and the volatility of virgin plastic prices persist.

The report examines South Africa's nascent electric vehicle (EV) market, highlighting a strong existing internal combustion engine (ICE) automotive sector that must transition to avoid losing key export markets. It identifies four primary investment opportunities: the electrification of public transport, local lithium-ion battery production, passenger vehicle manufacturing for export, and EV application in mining and construction. While global EV sales are rising, South Africa lacks specific subsidies and policies to accelerate uptake, and faces barriers such as high import duties (25% for EVs) and a lack of charging infrastructure. The document also details the potential macroeconomic impact of EV adoption, including reduced oil imports and a projected loss in government revenue from fuel levies.

The South African EV ecosystem is currently nascent and dominated by private sector activity, with limited local commercial production of battery cells and a reliance on imported components. While the country possesses significant reserves of battery minerals like manganese, it lacks extensive beneficiation capacity. The automotive sector, a major GDP contributor, is pivoting toward EVs to maintain competitiveness in export markets that are phasing out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Key barriers to adoption include high upfront costs, inadequate charging infrastructure, and a chronic shortage of technical skills. The report recommends that the City of Cape Town intervene through targeted incentives, procurement of EV fleets, and the development of charging infrastructure and skills training to stimulate a viable local value chain.

The paper examines the management of Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa, asserting that misappropriation occurred due to ineffective controls despite multiple early warnings. It highlights the vulnerability of the health sector to procurement fraud and the failure of governance regimes to prevent corruption during the crisis.

The paper examines the persistent failure of South African municipalities to comply with financial and operational regulations despite increased oversight. It critiques the dominant 'capacity' and 'ethics' explanations for non-compliance, arguing instead that officials often follow 'uncodified rules'—such as political pressure, community loyalty, and personal survival—which they perceive as more appropriate or necessary than formal laws. Using ethnographic research, the author proposes the 'logics of appropriateness' framework to understand how institutional norms and multiple identities shape bureaucratic behaviour.

The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) issued a series of letters between April and August 2020 to the South African government, including the Minister of Water and Sanitation and the President, demanding emergency water and sanitation services. The correspondence highlights a critical lack of access to clean water and soap in numerous rural and informal settlements, which the SAWC argues increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission and violates constitutional rights. The document includes detailed annexures listing specific communities in the Western Cape, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Free State suffering from dry taps, unreliable water tankers, and inadequate sanitation.

The project aims to protect 22 surface Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) that supply 50% of the region's water. It proposes a $20 million investment ($10 million from GCF) to implement climate-responsive mapping, strengthen regulatory frameworks, rehabilitate catchments upstream of water infrastructure, and develop natural capital accounts. The initiative targets 5.8 million direct beneficiaries and seeks to mitigate risks from increasing droughts, rainfall variability, and invasive alien plants.

The report assesses the impact of COVID-19 on South Africa's economy, forecasting significant job losses and wage declines. Using a 10% contraction in final demand as a median scenario, it estimates 1.77 million jobs are at risk, with the most severe impacts falling on low-skilled, informal, and poverty-stricken workers. The analysis highlights that the service sector and agriculture are hardest hit due to their reliance on consumption spending. The authors argue that the government's R500 billion rescue package is insufficient and poorly implemented, recommending a net new expenditure of at least R500 billion, expanded social protection, and targeted support for the informal sector and primary industries.

The report argues that South African municipalities are in a state of financial distress because the fiscal framework designed in the 1998 White Paper overestimated the ability of local governments to fund their operating expenditures through property rates and service charges. While the framework assumed 73% of operating costs could be covered by own revenue, the authors estimate the actual figure is likely less than 50%. This gap forces tariff increases that erode the 'social wage'—the state's strategy of providing affordable basic services to reduce poverty. The paper notes that good governance alone cannot solve this structural deficit, as even municipalities with clean audits often end the year in deficit. It further highlights that Eskom's direct supply of electricity to many households removes a key credit control tool for municipalities, hindering the collection of rates and taxes. The authors conclude that the system is fundamentally unsound and requires a complete redesign based on empirical data regarding service costs and household affordability.

The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) is demanding urgent government intervention to provide water and sanitation to over 200 communities across South Africa. The letter highlights systemic failures in water distribution, the inadequacy of the Department of Water and Sanitation's hotline, and the severe health risks posed to vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a detailed annexure of affected areas in the Western Cape, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Free State, citing issues such as dry taps, polluted water sources, and a lack of soap and sanitation products.

The policy brief critiques the South African government's 'risk-adjusted' strategy for reopening the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that it prioritizes business profitability over worker safety and ignores the impact of deep social inequalities. The authors propose a 'well-being economy' framework that treats health and economic performance as intertwined. Key recommendations include democratizing the return to work through worker oversight, implementing a universal basic income guarantee, expanding social infrastructure in townships, and reversing austerity measures in the national budget to provide a genuine rescue package for the most vulnerable.

The report contends that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep structural faults in South Africa's economy, including extreme inequality and a dependence on fossil fuels. It advocates for a 'Just Recovery' based on five principles: prioritizing health, providing direct economic relief, supporting workers over corporations, creating resilience for future crises, and building international solidarity. The authors propose a transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, the implementation of a 'purple economy' to value care work, and a shift toward democratic public ownership to replace market-centric neoliberal policies.