SUMMARY: This book looks at ways to solve the environmental and the joblessness challenges from the perspective of social justice and Just Transition to a low-carbon economy. The One Million Climate Jobs Campaign (OMCJC) of South Africa is reviewed to share lessons learned. Lessons learnt from the South African campaign are presented and possibilities of scaling up the national campaign are analysed.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Among other things, building up new, climate-friendly industries will be needed to sustain employment and investment. The campaign proposes producing electricity from wind and solar power; reducing energy use through energy efficiency in industries; reducing energy use in homes and buildings by constructing energy efficient new buildings and by retrofitting existing buildings; reducing the use of oil in transport by improving and expanding the public transport system; producing food through organic small-scale agro-ecology; and protecting water, soil and biodiversity resources.

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SUMMARY: Carbon Brief’s interviewed Samantha Smith, director of the Just Transition centre. Smith discusses the concept of Just Transition, which sectors are most likely to be affected, the cost of a Just Transition and how countries can transition towards a low carbon economy

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Smith outlines what is required for people to have security and opportunity while jobs and sectors transition: Social protection – unemployment insurance and access to health care, education and pensions; decent work; liveable minimum wage; and reskilling and upskilling.

SUMMARY: The report provides an overview of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and its outcomes from bidding windows 1-4. Also discussed are the policy implications of the REIPPPPs and the report draws on the experiences from South Africa to make recommendations in RE in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Among lessons from South Africa are an enabling policy and set of targets is important to establish a clear roadmap for RE development; an integrated resource plan is useful for establishing long-term RE targets within the overall energy mix; and a policy favouring competitive tenders or auctions rather than feed-in tariffs can be more effective in attracting investment in grid-connected renewable energy.

SUMMARY: This booklet aims to help workers and unions to grapple with climate change and its challenges. It explains the causes and effects of climate change, and its impacts on workers and the poor. It unpacks international negotiations about a global climate deal. Solutions are introduced and analysed, and suggestions made for unions to take the work forward. Included is: COSATU’s Policy Framework on Climate Change and a carbon footprint checklist for unions, with strategies for COSATU affiliates.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Cosatu’s positions on climate change recognises serious challenges for the working class and it also points out the gender dimension – women, as the administrators and labourers of households, are bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change. The framework requires fleshing out in practice. To this end, COSATU affiliates are called to begin to develop their policies, research and education capacity on climate change to inform their sectoral engagements on the issue.

SUMMARY: This study deals with sustainable energy sector transformation in South Africa. The report aims to give a high level overview of some of the key aspects that should allow the country to take progressive steps towards an improved energy sector that respects human rights and planetary boundaries. The study examines the status quo of our current energy system. This includes the key players and stakeholders, along with effects on impoverished and marginalised communities. The paper also identifies the key criteria for the transformation process and discusses the main areas of change for energy sector transformation.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: The report urges that the Integrated Resource Plan and Integrated Energy Plan should be developed in an open, logical and unbiased manner. Government must also develop a dedicated policy for energy sector transformation. It recommends energy production include large, medium, and small-scale shifts to low-carbon production; the energy supply focus should be on should be on electricity: alternative access, pricing reform and Eskom restructuring; energy use must focus on efficiency and fuel switching; meaningful public participation should feature in policy making, and policy updates must ensure policy alignment; and steps must be taken to attract financing for energy sector transformation.

SUMMARY: The booklet makes a case for a project to address the waste and pollution legacy of mining in the Witwatersrand basin with a clear linkage between the potential for revenue generation through materials reclamation and comprehensively addressing the entire rehabilitation challenge, with the participation of all stakeholders. The paper sketches the background and the extent of the challenge, the legislative and regulatory context, and the imperatives for urgent action, then focuses on the Tweelopiespruit wetlands area for a potential pilot project.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Gold and uranium mining in the Witwatersrand gold fields has resulted in contamination and destruction of wetlands, as well as negative impacts on biodiversity and on soil, groundwater and air quality. Pollution from Witwatersrand mines poses hazards to surrounding communities. The main pathways are: the airborne pathway, where radon gas and windblown dust disperse outwards from mine site and the waterborne pathway, either via ground or surface water or due to direct access, where people are contaminated and living in settlements directly adjacent to mines or living in settlements on the contaminated footprints of abandoned mines.

SUMMARY: The paper reconceptualises the relationship between development and sustainability. The paper endeavours to fuse the core conceptual concerns of the developmental state and sustainability transition literatures. The difference between South Africa’s dual developmental and environmental trajectories and the East Asian experience is presented.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: The paper adopts a pessimistic outlook on a Just Transition in South Africa, arguing that South Africa is an institutionally weak state that has not broken the power of the Minerals Energy Complex within the socio-political regime, not promoted employment-creating industrialisation and has facilitated accelerated financialisation. At the same time a myriad of environmental and resource challenges have emerged, without an adequate paradigmatic framework to ensure full understanding of what is going on within the socio-political regime.

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SUMMARY: This case study examines the 100 MW Eskom (CSP) power tower plant in Upington being developed by Eskom. The report analyses in detail what worked and what did not in the project’s financial, political and technological risk management and aims to inform the efforts of public entities such as national governments and Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) to design national and international public finance programs to deploy CSP and other emerging technologies

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: The report notes , among other findings, that the Eskom CSP project in South Africa is one of the most ambitious and technically challenging CSP projects in development outside the US both in its proposed technology choice (power tower), generating capacity (100 MW), and the 9-12 hours of storage. Eskom relied on political support and concessional lending from international financial institutions to develop the CSP. However, foreign debt implied additional risks for the utility. Public sources of finance are essential to bridge the viability gap between CSP power towers and cheaper alternatives.

SUMMARY: The report provides a segmented view of the net direct job creation expected in the formal economy across a wide range of technologies/activities that may be classified as green or contributing to the greening of the economy. The report aims to contribute to strategic planning. It highlights implementation challenges to unlock the green economy`s potential. It brings to the fore the importance of stakeholder interventions to develop competitive advantage in specific green areas. The report covers 26 industries including the energy generation, energy and resource efficiency, emission and pollution mitigation, and natural resource management sectors.

KEY FINDING / RECOMMENDATIONS: Recommendations for greening the economy should result in expansions of productive capacity and service delivery across a wide spectrum of economic sectors, although contractions may be experienced in others. This should be progressively supported by investment activity and result in meaningful employment creation. A growing green economy should also translate into opportunities for localisation of production, either by using existing production capabilities, or the establishing new capacity.