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The author argues that South Africa's economic growth is hindered by energy constraints, untenable industrial relations, and low private investment. While the president's address identifies these pressures, the author contends that powerful vested interests and parastatal red tape block necessary structural changes, such as the Independent System Market Operator (ISMO) Bill and the Independent Power Producers (IPP) Programme. The text criticizes the reliance on coal-fired mega projects and a costly nuclear fleet programme, suggesting that greater IPP procurement is a more efficient way to diversify the energy mix. Additionally, it calls for institutional changes to the Labour Relations Act to democratise industrial relations and warns that social interventions in mining communities must be balanced with efforts to attract private investment to revitalise the sector.

The research paper examines the role of Africa's natural carbon sinks, particularly in the Congo Basin and the Sahel, and evaluates the potential for a global carbon tax to fund the continent's energy transition and conservation efforts. It analyzes various carbon pricing scenarios, concluding that a differentiated payment model aligns best with the Paris Agreement's principles of fairness and historical responsibility.

The report highlights a rapidly growing energy services market in South Africa, driven by unreliable grid supply (loadshedding) and rising electricity costs. Rooftop solar PV and BTM Li-ion storage are identified as the most lucrative short-term opportunities, supported by new financing mechanisms and regulatory shifts. However, the sector faces significant headwinds from skilled labor shortages, institutional capacity constraints, and severe inefficiencies in port logistics affecting equipment imports.

The document argues that climate change impacts are not equal and are influenced by intersectional factors such as race, gender, power, and poverty. It provides examples of coalitions uniting debt activists, homeless advocates, racial justice groups, indigenous leaders, women's rights organisations, and labour unions to address systemic inequalities alongside the energy transition. These collaborations range from demanding unconditional debt cancellation for the Global South and vaccine equality to promoting 'carbon banks' for Black farmers in the US and integrating trans rights into environmental movements. The briefing highlights that integrating a social justice lens—recognising interacting systems of oppression—is essential for a diverse and effective climate movement.

The document presents case studies on Chile, Indonesia, and South Africa, focusing on how these nations balance the global demand for critical minerals with the need to decarbonize their mining sectors. It assesses the economic weight of mining, country-level greenhouse gas emissions, and the national policies used to align mining activities with international climate commitments and the Paris Agreement.

The report positions urban centers as critical drivers for climate leadership and economic recovery, specifically examining Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa to propose pathways for inclusive and climate-resilient futures.

The document lists rental rates for various conference facilities at WWF South Africa's 6-star 'green star' rated building in Braamfontein, including board rooms and presentation spaces with capacities ranging from 16 to 100 people.

The N4 toll road is a 30-year, $466 million infrastructure PPP connecting Witbank, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique. While traffic volumes have proven sufficient to sustain the project, the private partner, Trans African Concessions, faced significant political instability in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, bureaucratic delays in environmental authorizations, and public opposition to toll fees. To mitigate these, the company implemented tiered pricing based on national wealth disparities, conducted information campaigns, and lobbied government officials. Current efforts include the planned development of a $20 million one-stop border facility at Komatipoort/Ressano Garcia to reduce cargo congestion.

The document argues that the AfCFTA can mitigate Africa's youth unemployment crisis by fostering a regional market for greentech goods and services. It highlights a significant trade deficit in green goods and suggests that localising production—supported by tax incentives, digital skills training, and the revitalisation of Indigenous environmental practices—can create millions of jobs. While carbon-intensive sectors may lose up to 4.2 million jobs by 2050, the energy transition could create up to 12 million jobs in the same period, provided that regulatory barriers are removed and investment is facilitated.

The textile and garment sector is a major global emitter, with estimates ranging from 2% to 10% of annual global GHG emissions. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to both the physical impacts of climate change—risking millions of jobs in hubs like Bangladesh and Vietnam—and the transition risks posed by new sustainability regulations in consumer markets. The document highlights the potential for border carbon adjustments (BCAs) and the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to create non-tariff trade barriers. It also addresses the environmental crisis of textile waste dumping in Africa and South America. To ensure a just transition, the author argues for the inclusion of the sector in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), increased international financial and technical support, and a coordinated approach via the WTO to prevent protectionism.

The policy brief highlights the 'value-addition gap' in African agriculture, where low productivity and lack of energy access limit economic growth. It proposes that the AU-EU partnership focus on deploying solar mini-grids to power village-level agro-processing, reforming cooperatives to improve farmer bargaining power, and providing micro-finance and micro-enterprise training to smallholders. Using Uganda's maize sector as an example, the document demonstrates that over 60% of maize croplands could be served by mini-grids, which would displace inefficient diesel mills and reduce post-harvest losses.

The report argues that Canada requires comprehensive federal just transition legislation to provide certainty for workers and communities as the country moves toward a low-carbon economy. It identifies critical gaps in Canada's previous approach to the coal transition, such as a lack of negotiating power for advisory bodies and insufficient monitoring. Drawing on case studies from Spain, New Zealand, the US, South Africa, and the EU, the authors recommend that new legislation entrench International Labour Organization (ILO) principles, mandate a comprehensive just transition strategy, and establish a dedicated implementation agency. Key priorities include the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as full partners, the use of 'tripartite-plus' social dialogue, and the enforcement of corporate accountability to ensure the polluter-pays principle is upheld.

The document argues that renewable energy (RE), particularly in hybrid systems combining solar or wind with diesel or grid power, is increasingly viable for the mining sector. While RE requires higher initial capital expenditure (capex) compared to diesel, it offers lower operating expenditure (opex) and protects mines from fuel price volatility over a 20-year period. Key challenges include the intermittent nature of RE, which necessitates energy storage or hybrid configurations to meet the constant 24-hour baseload demand of mines, and a shortage of skilled technicians for installation at remote sites. The brief highlights a trend toward self-generation in South Africa and the potential for portable RE systems to support exploration. It recommends promoting RE for extraction efficiency, developing mobile solar systems, expanding specialized technical education, and utilizing post-mining land for community or utility RE projects.

The report analyzes Indonesia's transition from ad hoc fuel subsidies to a new pricing system introduced in January 2015, which aims to reduce wasteful spending by passing through international price changes. It evaluates 'good practice' across four dimensions—subsidies, pass-through, transparency, and enforcement—and examines case studies from China, Mexico, India, the Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand. The document argues that while full deregulation is the international benchmark for fiscal sustainability, Indonesia's constitutional constraints necessitate a robust, government-led mechanism. It recommends adopting variable taxes, improving real-time monitoring, and investing in non-pricing measures such as energy efficiency and targeted social safety nets to protect vulnerable groups from price volatility.

The document critiques the upcoming Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, arguing that current climate finance is woefully inadequate and often delivered as debt-increasing loans. It advocates for 'polluter pays' taxes on shipping, aviation, and fossil fuel companies, and calls for a 'climate version of the Hippocratic Oath' for private investors to stop financing fossil fuels in the Global South while attempting to fund the energy transition.

The South African mining sector is highly vulnerable to job losses driven by biophysical climate impacts and international trade responses, with coal, gold, and platinum being the most at risk. While biophysical impacts could lead to 14,700 job losses across all sectors, international trade responses could cause between 9,400 and 52,800 losses by 2030. The report highlights that coal and lignite mining is particularly vulnerable, with expected job losses of approximately 6% by 2030. However, the transition to a low-carbon economy creates opportunities for job growth in the extraction of minerals required for clean energy technologies, such as manganese and platinum group metals. To manage this transition, the report recommends a two-pronged approach to inventory and match transferable skills to non-mining sectors and new mining sub-sectors.

This fact sheet defines green industrial policy (GIP) as government strategies to promote sustainable industries and phase out greenhouse gas emitters. It highlights the success of China's electric vehicle industry as a model for GIP but warns that developing countries face significant financing, skills, and technological barriers. The document emphasizes the role of the G20 in shaping global GIP principles, particularly under South Africa's agenda, which focuses on leveraging critical minerals to drive inclusive economic growth and manufacturing in Africa.

The authors argue that South Africa's vulnerability to climate change is rooted in its political economy, specifically the fossil-fuel-dependent 'minerals-energy complex' (MEC). To move beyond simple coping strategies toward 'transformative resilience,' the paper outlines three pillars: a Green Decent Work Agenda (GDWA) to create sustainable livelihoods, social protection (specifically a universal basic income guarantee) to provide safety nets, and radical, state-led land reform to reduce exposure to risk and enhance adaptive capacity.

The document argues that public finance is essential to close the 'viability gap' for CSP, as more than 98% of plants built by 2012 required such support. It highlights that while international financial institutions (IFIs) provide critical long-term debt and concessional finance, currency hedging costs often offset these benefits. The authors suggest that deploying 5-15GW of CSP could reduce electricity production costs by 14-44%, potentially making the technology competitive in Morocco and South Africa. Key recommendations include moving away from flat tariffs to remunerate the flexibility provided by thermal storage and transitioning from international to local private debt to ensure long-term sustainability.

The BRICS bloc generated over half of the world's electricity in 2024, with China dominating renewable energy production. While solar and wind capacity have grown exponentially in China, India, and Brazil since 2015, progress has stalled in Russia and South Africa. Hydropower's share of BRICS renewable generation fell from 82% in 2015 to 45% in 2023 as solar and wind expanded. China leads the bloc in total renewable energy jobs, though Brazil has the highest proportion of such jobs relative to its population.