Just Transition in South Africa

On the occasion of the COP 24 UNFCCC climate summit where the Just Transition Silesia Declaration was adopted this policy brief explains the work that FEPS observer member MISTRA is carrying out on this topic, looking at how South Africa can build a socially inclusive economic transformation.

Since FEPS (the Foundation for European Progressive Studies) began working on the topic of Just Transition in 2015 it is gaining ground tremendously. It is mentioned in the preamble of the Paris climate treaty and a declaration has just been adopted on the first day of the UNFCCC COP 24 climate summit in Katowice, Poland, entitled the “Solidarity and Just Transition, Silesia Declaration”. Additionally the ‘BASIC’ countries of Brazil, South Africa, India and China, just ahead of the COP24 starting issued a joint statement emphasising that global climate action “should promote climate justice and a just transition”.

Yet how is Just Transition being interpreted across the world and how will it be put into practice?

This policy brief guides us through the context of Just Transition scenarios in South Africa and provides a description of the ongoing project that MISTRA, together with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) is carrying out there.

It will be interesting to see if South Africa’s position changes during the COP24 negotiations.

Read the policy brief