What is JUST SA?

JUST SA supports the implementation of pathways towards an environmentally sustainable, climate-change resilient, low-carbon economy and just society.

Commissioned by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), JUST SA is a five-year project that works at the national, provincial and local levels.

At the national level, JUST SA supports the implementation of the Just Transition Framework and facilitates dialogue and information sharing on the Just Transition in South Africa. At the provincial and local levels, JUST SA supports a variety of stakeholders in Mpumalanga to design and implement alternative diversification and development pathways.

In addition, JUST SA supports the rehabilitation of coal mining land and water through research, policy implementation and community engagement.

JUST SA is implemented through a consortium comprised of GIZ, Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), the National Business Initiative (NBI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF), and in close collaboration with Indalo Inclusive, the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency (MGCA), the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit (JET PMU), the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) and others.

What is TIPS doing on JUST SA?

TIPS is involved in the design and implementation of a number of activities on JUST SA. These include:

Research

TIPS is involved in a three-pronged research programme on JUST SA: (1) building a short- and medium-term Just Transition policy package for South Africa’s coal workforce; (2) unpacking practical pathways for the economic diversification of the Mpumalanga coalfields; and (3) supporting the development of robust, commercially viable Just Transition project pipelines, updating the TIPS Just Transition Tagging Framework using real world data from the Just Transition Finance Tool, and developing an instrument or mechanism to solve a well-defined challenge or barrier in Just Transition finance.

We are also working with the PCC to develop a localised economic diversification strategy for the area around the Komati power station and investigating the potential role that South African financial institutions can play in supporting less well-resourced enterprises to develop credible, investible, and fundable Just Transition project proposals.

Training and capacity building

TIPS is delivering training in all nine provinces in South Africa to sub-national (provincial and municipal) government officials on the green economy and the Just Transition. JUST SA is also supporting the 2025 and 2026 editions of TIPS’s annual Industrial Policy for Policy Makers (IPPM) course on Green Industrialisation and the Just Transition.

Just Transition Community of Practice

TIPS is establishing a Community of Practice (CoP) on the Just Transition. This includes the establishment of an online learning platform for courses on the green economy and the just transition, just transition finance, and the role of gender inclusion in a Just Transition for SA. The JUST SA CoP will also include a series of events on specific topics related to a Just Transition in SA as well as an international study tour for selected alumni from our provincial training course. The purpose of the international study tour is to provide government officials with exposure to visit best practice international projects that can provide local solution.

Digital Knowledge Platform

TIPS is establishing a Digital Knowledge Platform, linked to the JUST SA website, that will serve as a repository of information (published articles, reports, podcasts, etc.) on the Just Transition in South Africa.

Contact Details

Media Contact: Thobani Khumalo (Thobani@tips.org.za)
JUST SA Project Coordinator: Natasha du Plessis (Natasha@tips.org.za)