South Africa's energy transition – Unraveling its political economy

The article seeks to understand the driving forces of the continued dominance of coal in South Africa. Moreover, the article shows how and why coal has been dominating the national energy sector and why a respective phase out has been developing slowly.

Key Findings/Recommendations: The four main objectives influencing the national energy sector are; “Energy availability”, “Maintaining profitability of the coal sector”, “Environmental and climate protection” and “Reducing inequalities and employment insecurity”. Conscientious planning for finding alternatives to coal-related employment is crucial in order to ensure support for a transition from a majority of societal stakeholders in regions that have been relying on coal sector revenues. Th article further recommends that it is important to aim for a just transition that looks at the national circumstances around poverty, unemployment, and inequality in South Africa as a whole.

Read online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082622000928