Towards a Comprehensive Social Protection System for a Just Transition in South Africa

Overview

The report “Towards a Comprehensive Social Protection System for a Just Transition in South Africa” examines how social protection policies can support workers, households, and communities affected by the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy. It analyses the potential social impacts of structural changes—particularly in coal-dependent sectors—and evaluates how existing social protection instruments such as grants, unemployment insurance, and labour market programmes could be adapted to mitigate these risks. The study argues that a stronger, more integrated social protection system is essential to prevent rising unemployment, poverty, and inequality while enabling workers to transition into new economic opportunities.

Recommendations

The report argues that South Africa’s Just Transition requires a stronger and more integrated social protection system that combines income support, labour market programmes, skills development, and regional development policies to protect vulnerable workers and communities during the shift to a low-carbon economy.

Here are the key recommendations:

• Strengthen and expand social protection systems: Build a more comprehensive social protection framework that integrates grants, unemployment insurance, public employment programmes, and labour-market policies to protect workers and communities affected by climate and energy transitions.
• Provide income support for affected workers and households: Introduce targeted income-support mechanisms for workers displaced by decarbonisation or climate impacts, including temporary income replacement, unemployment benefits, and support during retraining periods.
• Invest in skills development and retraining programmes: Expand reskilling and upskilling programmes to help workers transition into emerging sectors such as renewable energy and green industries, with recognition of prior learning and workplace-based training.
• Develop active labour market policies for transition: Strengthen job placement services, career counselling, and training initiatives to assist workers in moving from declining sectors into new employment opportunities.
• Adopt a place-based approach for vulnerable regions: Target social protection and economic development interventions in regions most exposed to transition risks—such as coal-dependent communities—to prevent regional inequality and economic decline.
• Improve coordination across government institutions: Align social protection, labour market, climate, and economic development policies to ensure coherent implementation of Just Transition programmes across national, provincial, and local government.
• Mobilise sustainable financing for social protection: Secure funding through national budgets, climate finance, and international partnerships to support social protection measures during the transition.
• Promote inclusive stakeholder participation: Ensure that workers, trade unions, communities, and businesses participate in designing transition policies to build trust and ensure equitable outcomes.

Source: Download the Social Protection for Just Transition Report at: https://cms.climatecommission.org.za/uploads/images/Social-Protection-for-Just-Transition_Report.pdf