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This guide, published by Natural Justice in February 2025, provides instructions for the public to comment on the draft Scoping Report for proposed exploration drilling by TotalEnergies EP SA S.A.S (TEEPSA) in the southern area of the Deep Water Orange Basin (DWOB) block. It outlines the project's activities, potential environmental and social impacts, and the legal process for environmental authorisation in South Africa.

This policy brief by the African Food Systems Transformation Collective argues for a 'deep, just transition' approach to African food systems that prioritizes human rights, structural equity, and agroecology over industrialization. Using South Africa as a cautionary example of the failures of industrial agri-food systems, the document provides recommendations for philanthropic organizations to fund multi-sectoral coalitions, grassroots agency, and long-term, context-based research and advocacy.

The 2025 Market Intelligence Report for the Western Cape identifies significant growth potential in embedded solar PV (R20bn potential), large-scale renewables (R63bn potential), and BTM lithium-ion storage (R2.3bn by 2030). While the market is bolstered by falling technology costs and a shift toward energy liberalisation (including wheeling pilots in Cape Town and George), it faces critical barriers in the form of grid congestion and policy uncertainty. A key potential unlock is Eskom's curtailment proposal, which could release 2 680 MW of grid capacity in the province.

The 2025 Sustainable Agriculture Market Intelligence Report by GreenCape identifies investment opportunities in smart farming and undercover farming within the Western Cape, South Africa. It emphasizes the need for resource-efficient technologies to mitigate rising input costs, water scarcity, and new European Union sustainability regulations.

Natural Justice provides a legal and rights-based critique of South Africa's 2025 draft Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). While acknowledging progress in absolute emissions targets, the organization argues that the draft lacks the 'stringent' due diligence required by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and fails to provide concrete, costed implementation plans for adaptation and loss and damage. Natural Justice advocates for unconditional commitments to phase out fossil fuels, the integration of human rights indicators into monitoring frameworks, and the establishment of a grant-based domestic loss and damage facility funded by taxes on fossil fuel profits.

This report, commissioned by UNDP South Africa and published by WWF South Africa, provides a roadmap for implementing Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to help South Africa meet the Global Biodiversity Framework's '30x30' target. It identifies potential marine OECM mechanisms, assesses their biodiversity value and area-based contributions, estimates recognition costs, and proposes a structured national framework for identification, assessment, and reporting.

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice argues that food insecurity in South Africa is primarily a result of income poverty rather than food scarcity. It advocates for a Guaranteed Universal Basic Income (UBIG) to ensure all citizens can afford a nutritious diet, highlighting the severe health, social, and economic costs of malnutrition and the limitations of current targeted social grants.

This case study describes a community dialogue initiative established in 2021 between the towns of Hoekwil and Touwsranten in the Western Cape, South Africa. Facilitated by the Institute for Security Studies, the initiative aimed to bridge racial and class divides to address shared safety concerns and economic instability.

This fact sheet describes a legal challenge brought by The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) against the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for oil and gas exploration off the coast of the Western Cape. It details the grounds for judicial review and reports Total's July 2024 announcement of its intention to withdraw from exploration block 567.

This fact sheet by Natural Justice details a legal challenge brought by The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) against the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for oil and gas exploration off the Western Cape coast. It specifically addresses a joinder application by Total to include Shell in the proceedings following Total's July 2024 announcement of its withdrawal from block 567.

The 'Assessing Subnational Enabling Framework Conditions for Urban Climate Finance' guide, developed by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), provides a tool for subnational governments to evaluate and improve the regulatory, institutional, and financial environments necessary to scale urban climate finance.

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.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) report 'Strengthening the SAPS for a safer South Africa' provides a framework for reforming the South African Police Service (SAPS) to reverse a decline in organisational performance and public safety observed since 2012. The report outlines five strategic focus areas: leadership and professionalisation, serious violent crime, corruption and accountability, data and technology, and auxiliary policing. It argues that increasing personnel numbers alone is insufficient and calls for evidence-based strategic planning, improved investigative capabilities, and a shift toward a professional police identity to restore public trust.

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.

This guide, published by Natural Justice, informs the public about the draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for oil and gas exploration in Block 3B/4B off the west coast of South Africa. It outlines the proposed activities by a joint venture of Africa Oil South Africa Corp, Ricocure (Pty) Ltd, and Azinam Limited, detailing the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts, and providing instructions for public comment and participation.

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.

This report by WWF South Africa provides a guide and case studies on integrating biodiversity into agricultural landscapes in the Cape Winelands. It advocates for regenerative farming practices, such as reducing tillage and chemical inputs, and offers practical strategies for restoring degraded land through passive and active restoration. The document includes specific plant palettes for riverine areas, intercropping, and habitat hedges to enhance ecosystem resilience and support pollinators.

This report details Phase 3 (2019–2024) of the transformational partnership between WWF South Africa and Nedbank, which received an investment of R25 million. The collaboration focused on safeguarding strategic water source areas, promoting sustainable agriculture in the dairy and fruit sectors, and enhancing rural livelihoods, with a primary geographic emphasis on the Eastern Cape province.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has developed workplace-based violence prevention programmes, such as 'Free to Grow', to address South Africa's high rates of domestic and gender-based violence. Pilots at Tikketai and a partnership with Anglo American demonstrate that integrating these services into the workplace reduces barriers to access, improves employee mental health and family relationships, and increases business productivity and stability.

This policy brief explores how monitoring and evaluation (M&E) can be used to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa. Based on six case studies, it identifies four key enablers: contextualized learning, inclusive processes, increased agency for Global South actors in M&E design, and institutional arrangements that ensure long-term data ownership. The brief argues that M&E is a tool of power and advocates for a shift from funder-driven compliance to locally-led, reflexive systems that empower marginalized communities.