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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.

Natural Justice, The Green Connection, and the Aukotowa Primary Fishing Cooperative are challenging an Environmental Authorisation granted in 2023 to TotalEnergies EP South Africa S.A.S for ultra deep water exploration drilling in the Deep Water Orange Basin, approximately 200 km off South Africa's west coast. The organisations are asking the Western Cape High Court to set aside the authorisation and the dismissal of internal appeals, with hearings scheduled for 23 and 24 March 2026 in Cape Town.

This industry brief by GreenCape examines the transition to electric two- and three-wheelers (E2W and E3W) for last-mile delivery in South Africa. It analyzes the economic viability, operational strategies, and environmental impacts of replacing internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles with electric micro-mobility solutions, highlighting the role of innovative financing and charging infrastructure in overcoming high upfront costs.

The 2026 Market Intelligence Report by GreenCape outlines renewable energy (RE) investment opportunities in South Africa, identifying a potential market of R161.2 billion by 2030. The report focuses on large-scale RE projects and behind-the-meter (BTM) solutions, while detailing the transition from public procurement to a private offtake market and the structural unbundling of Eskom.

This report details a workshop held from 20 to 22 October 2025, organized by the Institute for Economic Justice to build capacity among diverse food system constituencies to engage with South Africa's Climate Change Act (CCA). The workshop focused on the intersection of climate change and food systems, the need for a just transition that prioritizes agroecology and land reform, and the specific policy entry points provided by the CCA's mandated National and Sector Adaptation Plans.

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) issued a statement regarding the disruption of a Western Cape Branch event on 7 May, which featured Emma Louise Powell of the Democratic Alliance. The event, focused on South Africa's G20 goals and bilateral relations, was halted due to protests over the speaker's positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

This guide, published by Natural Justice in March 2025, provides small-scale fishing communities in South Africa with a framework for pursuing 'ocean justice'. It details the legal rights of these communities, the environmental and socio-economic impacts of industrial developments like oil and gas exploration, and practical steps for participating in environmental impact assessments and legislative processes to protect their livelihoods and the marine environment.

This report analyzes the potential for South Africa to use its public procurement spending, which represents approximately 15% of its GDP, to address environmental issues such as carbon emissions, pollution, and water scarcity.

This report by the Nature-Based Infrastructure Global Resource Centre evaluates the cost-benefit ratio of implementing nature-based infrastructure (NBI) to mitigate flood risks in the Drakenstein Municipality of South Africa, specifically focusing on river restoration in the Berg River catchment.

This fact sheet, published by Natural Justice in February 2025, provides information and guidance for the public to comment on the draft Scoping Report for TotalEnergies EP SA S.A.S (TEEPSA) exploration drilling in the southern area of license block Diep Water Oranje Kom (DWOB).

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.

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.

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.