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The research paper analyzes South Africa's Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy for South Africa (CMMSSA), released on 20 May 2025. The strategy aims to leverage the country's mineral wealth to drive industrialization and economic growth during the global energy transition. While the paper acknowledges the strategy's ambitious vision and integrated approach, it highlights significant risks regarding institutional capacity, regulatory contradictions with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), and a lack of concrete justice frameworks for affected communities.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the energy-based relationship between India and Africa. It analyzes India's strategic need to diversify its energy imports away from the Middle East and its efforts to build a sustainable, development-oriented partnership with African nations that moves beyond simple resource extraction to include capacity building and renewable energy cooperation.

This research paper analyzes the formation and policy implications of South Africa's new coalition government, termed a 'government of national unity' (GNU), following the 2024 elections. It examines the ideological tensions between the African National Congress (ANC) and its partners, specifically the Democratic Alliance (DA), and how these frictions may impact domestic social and economic priorities as well as foreign policy regarding BRICS, Russia, and Israel.

This policy brief examines the subsidies provided to the coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuel sector in South Africa, specifically focusing on the company Sasol. It details the financial impact of market price support and carbon tax exemptions, arguing that these measures sustain coal's role in the transport sector and conflict with the country's Paris Agreement commitments.

This policy brief examines the role of international development finance institutions (DFIs) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) in addressing South Africa's infrastructure deficit. It analyzes the shift from a historical reluctance to seek external aid toward a current necessity driven by rising public debt and the economic impact of COVID-19. The document details the government's Infrastructure Build Programme, the establishment of the Investment and Infrastructure Office (IIO), and the creation of a ZAR100 billion Infrastructure Fund, while highlighting critical gaps in project preparation skills and procurement coordination.

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) outlines a strategy for South Africa's transition from a coal-dependent electricity system to a low-carbon model. It emphasizes the need for a 'just transition' to protect vulnerable workers, the urgent need to reform Eskom's business model, and the potential for localizing the manufacturing of renewable energy components to drive economic growth.

This executive summary, published by the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, analyzes how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can be leveraged to support Africa's green transition. It argues that while the AfCFTA agreement contains minimal environmental references, it can be adjusted to eliminate trade barriers for environmental goods and services. The document emphasizes the need for a phased decarbonization approach for fossil-fuel-dependent nations and recommends that development partners increase climate financing and align initiatives like the European Green Deal with African realities to avoid duplicating existing continental climate strategies.

The report proposes a worker-centred alternative financing framework for South Africa's just transition to a low-carbon economy. It argues that the existing Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) over-relies on private funding and profit-driven models, which may fail to deliver social justice or sufficient green industrialisation. The proposed framework integrates worker demands with promotional fiscal and monetary policies and the reform of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to ensure the transition is treated as a public good.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the challenges South Africa faces as it moves from the planning phase to the implementation of its just transition away from coal. It identifies critical misalignments between national and subnational priorities, institutional capacity gaps in coal-dependent regions, and the inadequacy of current financial mechanisms to support transformative, high-risk projects.

This guide by RMI, developed in collaboration with the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), introduces guidelines for Coal Transition Mechanisms (CTMs). These financial tools are designed to accelerate the retirement of existing coal plants, particularly those shielded from market pressures by regulation or long-term contracts, while mitigating the reputational and financial risks associated with financing coal plant owners.

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.

The 'Energy needs assessment for farmers – Situational Guideline' by GreenCape provides a structured framework for South African agricultural producers to transition toward energy resilience. It outlines a three-step process: conducting energy audits to identify efficiencies, evaluating alternative energy technologies based on specific farm needs, and navigating the financial and quality assurance requirements for implementation.

This report examines the power dynamics and distribution policies influencing the phase-out of coal in the Colombian Caribbean, as part of a comparative study with South Africa and Indonesia on just energy transitions in Global South coal-producing countries.

The Institute for Economic Justice presents a conceptual framework for a research project in South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya. The framework examines how the localisation of renewable energy technologies—defined by domestic manufacturing, ownership, and employment—can lead to both economic and social upgrading. Using a Global Production Networks (GPN) perspective and an operational assessment matrix, the project analyzes value creation, power relations, and the distribution of gains across various social axes to inform policies that align energy expansion with decent work and sustainable livelihoods.

The report describes a 'Futures Dialogue' held in April 2025 between South Africa and the Netherlands to integrate strategic foresight into climate and energy diplomacy. The event aimed to move beyond traditional, transactional diplomatic frameworks to address systemic crises through methods like scenario planning and Causal Layered Analysis, focusing on green industrialisation, transformative finance, and shifting narratives of African agency.

Expert affidavit by Jesse Burton arguing that the proposed Thabametsi coal-fired power station in South Africa is economically unnecessary, would increase greenhouse gas emissions by 136.1Mt CO2eq over 30 years, and would frustrate the country's Paris Agreement commitments. The document advocates for a transition to a least-cost electricity system dominated by wind and solar PV, which is projected to provide 90% of electricity by 2050.

This fact sheet from Sustainable Energy for All outlines various global platforms, compacts, and coalitions designed to accelerate the energy transition and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7).

This document is a supporting affidavit filed in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria) by Sven Eaton Patrick Peek, a director of the GroundWork Trust. The affidavit serves to confirm and support the submissions made in a founding affidavit deposed to by Mphatheleni Makaulele regarding a legal matter involving several applicants, including GroundWork, and respondents including the Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone (SOC) Ltd and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.

Natural Justice (NJ) submitted a formal objection on 31 January 2022 to proposed amendments to the s24H Registration Authority Regulations, 2016 under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). NJ argues that requiring a registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to handle appeals and certain submissions would create prohibitive financial barriers for communities, effectively barring them from the appeals process and subsequent judicial review.

This research paper examines the role of green technology, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind energy, in decarbonisation and industrialisation. It argues that market forces alone are insufficient for scaling renewable energy and emphasizes the necessity of targeted industrial policy and government intervention to ensure equitable transitions, particularly in developing economies like South Africa and Brazil.